This archive report was first published on 18 December 2019.
As Kenya's education system continues to evolve, the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has found a lucrative way to make millions from releasing exam results. The council's decision to release results via SMS has left anxious parents and guardians footing the bill, with some even sending multiple texts to get the results.
According to a spot-check by Business Today, most people who sent the text said that they did not get the results on the first trial and got them on the second (spending Ksh50) or third attempt (Ksh75). This translates to a conservative estimate of Ksh50 for every candidate.
With a total of 699,745 students sitting the KCSE this year, the potential earnings for KNEC are staggering. Assuming each student has one parent requesting the results, this would translate to Sh17,493,625 getting into the KNEC coffers. However, with the curiosity, each student could have at least three SMSes sent tripling the amount to Sh52,480,875.
For KCPE, 1,083,456 pupils sat the exam, and at least two people sent the index number of each candidate for them to get the results. This would translate to a conservative estimate of Ksh50 for every candidate, making the total earnings for KNEC a staggering Ksh54.17 million.
But where does this money go? The government has never accounted for this money, and KNEC's website has no audit reports showing where these millions go. The council's chairman, Education CS Prof George Magoha, has been at the helm of this lucrative venture, which has left many questioning the motives behind it.
As the country grapples with theft of public resources, KNEC's SMS platform is another form of corruption that has gone unnoticed. The council's decision to release results via SMS has created a lucrative business for them, leaving anxious parents and guardians footing the bill.
