The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has expressed concerns that the marking schemes used in the 2016 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations were designed to make students fail, according to a report presented to the National Assembly’s Committee on Education.
KNUT Secretary General Wilson Sossion stated that the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) used raw marks to assign grades instead of the previous system, where grades were based on performance. This, he claimed, was an irregular change in policy that warranted scrutiny from MPs.
Sossion based his claims on a study of the examination process, which included confidential input from examiners. He asserted, "We can tell you, scientifically, that these fellows colluded to fail students. We are telling you, the education system is on fire. It’s rotting. We are not naming names but we’re telling you to come and help."
Concerns Over Marking Scheme ¶
KNUT, accompanied by officials from the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), requested that the committee audit the examination setting, marking scheme creation, and grade awarding processes. They noted that, unlike in the past, examiners were not allowed to consult during the marking process, and in some subjects, a predetermined highest mark was set.
The union also pointed out instances where questions were repeated from past papers, but the marks assigned were arbitrary. Their primary concern was the opaque nature of the examination process, including the decision to confiscate all question papers and the manner in which the results were announced by Education Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i.
While acknowledging that measures to prevent cheating were effective, KNUT argued that the marking and grading process was unusual, resulting in an unusually high number of students scoring low grades. This, in turn, would limit their access to further education.
The recovered account cited reporting by Nairobi News.
