In response to concerns expressed by a few candidates over inconsistencies in the recently announced 2023 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) results, the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) has formally responded.
On Saturday, the council confirmed receiving objections in a press release about mistakes found by applicants who accessed their results using the Ministry of Education’s shortcode 40054.
Dr. David Njengere, CEO of KNEC, provided clarification in his statement, saying, “KNEC was notified that certain candidates’ grades and marks in Kiswahili were not aligned with their placement in Kenyan Sign Language. Additionally, there have been instances where the grades in Social Studies, Science, and Religious Education have been improperly truncated, without the customary plus (+) and minus (-) indications.”
The candidates who got their results using the SMS short code were the only ones impacted by the found flaws; KNEC informed the public that all results accessible on its official portal were accurate. According to Dr Njengere, these differences were caused by “configuration issues,” which the council quickly resolved after consulting with the SMS service provider.
Additionally, applicants who expressed worries about receiving poor marks—particularly in English and Kiswahili—had their questions answered by the council. Following a comprehensive examination of all appeals, Dr. Njengere verified that 133 candidates were identified as being impacted. Their cases have received careful attention, and the latest findings reflect this.
In response to the widely circulated rumours of a school where all applicants allegedly received 75 points in science, Dr. Njengere explained that this kind of mark consistency is reasonable for a multiple-choice exam. He stressed that while this can be seen as a possible anomaly, there was insufficient evidence to prove that the institution had committed misconduct.
Finally, in accordance with the KNEC Rules of 2015 Legal Notice 131, Dr. Njengere advised applicants to obtain their result slips from their institutions and to file any appeals within the allotted 30-day window. This formal declaration aims to confirm the integrity of the 2023 KCPE results and shed light on the observed inconsistencies.