CS Machogu reveals how minus error led to KCSE candidates getting underserving grades

The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has acknowledged a critical error in the printing of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).

The revelation came during a grilling session by the National Assembly Education Committee, where Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu and KNEC CEO David Njengere were questioned about grade discrepancies in the 2023 KCSE exams.

According to KNEC, a system glitch led to the omission of minus signs (-) for some grades on the printed nominal rolls.

This resulted in students' grades being inaccurately represented, such as a B (plain) instead of a B- (minus).

Approximately 3,018 candidates across 1,059 examination centers nationwide were affected by this error.

Students writing their KCSE Students writing their KCSE Pulse Live Kenya

However, KNEC clarified that the online portal reflected accurate results, and the discrepancies were confined to the printed nominal rolls distributed to schools.

Prompt action was taken by KNEC to rectify the issue, with corrected printouts delivered to affected schools.

During the grilling session, CS Machogu reassured the public that measures had been taken to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

A technical team, comprising representatives from the Ministry of ICT and the Digital Economy, the National Computer and Cybercrimes Coordination Unit, and the ICT Authority, was tasked with investigating the matter.

The team submitted its report to the Ministry of Education, recommending the establishment of a multi-sectoral ICT committee to oversee the examination process and regular load tests to assess system capacity.

Cabinet Secretary for Education Ezekiel Machogu in his office Cabinet Secretary for Education Ezekiel Machogu in his office Pulse Live Kenya

Furthermore, KNEC was mandated to upgrade its IT infrastructure and implement continuous performance monitoring to proactively identify potential shortcomings in the future.

The incident has raised concerns about the trauma experienced by affected students and the confusion caused by the errors.

This comes after previous concerns were raised about the authenticity of the 2023 KCSE examination results, with several schools reporting discrepancies in grades after logging into the KNEC official portal.