Following a successful appeal, the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) will allow 25 students from Dibuoro Secondary School to retake the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination in 2021.
Nelson Sifuna, the Siaya County Assistant Director of Education, told the media on Wednesday, April 27, that KNEC allowed the candidates to retake the national test after they filed a petition with the government challenging the government’s cancellation of their exam results due to suspected malpractice.
After KNEC determined that their appeal addressed relevant reasons, the 25 students will take the exam in 30 days.
“KNEC enabled them to retake the exam in order to obtain their results, despite what occurred during the exams,” Sifuna explained.
KNEC has yet to determine on the exam center where students will take the test and the dates when the subjects will be completed. KNEC’s gesture was applauded by both parents and students, who expressed gratitude to the body for its forbearance.
The 25 candidates were among 42 pupils from the institution who were detained on March 19 during the administration of the Chemistry practical exam by a multi-agency team responding to a tip.
Police officers confiscated four mobile phones from the candidates. A further probe revealed that the students were part of a WhatsApp Group where the exam papers were shared.
Among the papers found to have been shared with the candidates were the Chemistry Paper 3, which they sat on the day of the raid, and a copy of the Kiswahili test they sat the previous day. Consequently, KNEC partnered with the investigating agencies to unearth the mastermind of the breach.
Notably, Dibuoro School was not the only institution from the region that missed out on its results. Over 400 candidates from Oriwo High School in Homa Bay County are yet to know whether or not they have qualified for university education.
KNEC CEO, David Njeng’ere, on April 27, ended the anxiety of the students after announcing that they
of the students after announcing that they would know their fate in May 2022 upon conclusion of investigations on their alleged involvement in exam malpractices.
Adamant on the seriousness of the fight against exam cheating, Education Cabinet Secretary, George Magoha, declared that 441 students whose exams had been cancelled, would not be shown any mercy.
“There were 441 cases reported in the 2021 KCSE Examination and one case of a centre with all the results withheld. KNEC will not have any mercy on examination offenders who must be dealt with decisively,” Magoha affirmed
