Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) has deregistered over 370,000 students for the 2019 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams after detecting potential fraud involving fake birth certificates. The move follows a validation exercise that uncovered irregularities in registration data, with 342,916 primary and 28,713 secondary candidates affected.
According to The Standard, the majority of discrepancies originated from primary schools, with Meru county recording the highest number of invalidated registrations. Marsabit had the fewest cases, with 45 students’ records under review. Knec CEO Mercy Karogo stated the agency detected anomalies during verification, including schools manipulating birth registration data and candidates entering invalid registration digits.
Knec’s investigation revealed that some school heads and parents colluded to submit false documentation. The council emphasized that only candidates with verified records would be allowed to sit the exams, while those involved in fraud would face penalties. Karogo noted that the system’s design required accurate data entry, with many registrants inputting incorrect or fabricated numbers.
The Education Cabinet Secretary’s office previously highlighted challenges with duplicate birth certificate numbers and data entry errors. Knec also introduced reforms to index numbers, mandating they be assigned based on school admission registers rather than class performance to prevent past injustices. The agency is collaborating with government agencies to trace the extent of the fraud and ensure compliance with registration protocols.
