'There was no cheating in the 2022 KCSE exams,' Education CS Machogu insists

Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has reiterated that there was no cheating in the 2022 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination.

Nyambaria and Mobamba high schools, both in Nyamira, had all their 488 and 388 candidates respectively securing university admissions.

In the 2021 exam, Nyambaria posted a mean score of 9.30; in the 2021 exams, it hit the 10.897 mark.

Mobimba, on the other part, had a mean score of 5.11 in 2021, and raised that to 9.28 in last year's exam.

Speaking during the launch of grade seven textbooks at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) on Friday, CS Machogu refuted allegations of mass cheating across the region terming the said reports as mere propaganda.

“From where I sit, there was no cheating. This is propaganda started by people who do not have proper intentions for the country,” he said.

The Cabinet Secretary insisted that the Ministry of Education, in conjunction with the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC), ran a credible process that should not be stained by unfounded claims.

“I want to make it clear that when we were briefing the categories and I went to various counties with meetings and all those concerned with the administration of exams, I did that because I want us to have an exam where integrity has not been compromised. I have seen a lot of misrepresentation and a lot of people coming up with information that is not true,” he stated.

CS Machogu argued that the number of candidates attaining the minimum university entry point of C+ has gradually increased over the years, since before he took over the ministry.

He stated that, in 2016, there were 141 As out of 571,161 candidates; representing 0.002 percent, or what he termed as “mass failure by all standards.”

In 2021, the number rose to 1,138 As out of 821,582 candidates, with 145,145 students attaining grade C+ and above.

“The global benchmark for C+ and above is 30 per cent, we are at 20 per cent so we have a lot of work to do,” he added.

“Nyambaria got 28 As because of good management, the principal of Maranda which has been leading in national exams was transferred to that school,” he said.