Conflicting results, alleged opaque test administration and failure to adequately respond to complaints by parents and candidates have seen two lobbies sue Knec over the 2023 national tests, demanding forensic audit in 90 days.
Kenya Human Rights Commission and Elimu Bora Working Group announced on Tuesday that they have brought the suit to compel Kenya National Examination Council to conduct a forensic audit over the controversies around the results of the 2023 KCPE and KSCE exams.
In what appears to be ghosts of the complaint over the conduct of the tests coming back to haunt the national body, the lobbies complain that the exams were not credibly administered and that there were doubts whether the candidates got rightful grades.
KHRC and EBWG say they want Knec and Education Cabinet secretary Ezekiel Machogu to do the forensic audit in 90 days and publicise the findings.
Widespread irregularities in last year's KCPE and KCSE exam results have triggered this suit, they said in the court papers shared with media houses.
Knec released KCPE exam results on November 23, last year and there were complaints by some candidates that they got conflicting grades.
Part of the complaint at the time was the slow relay of the results via the the SMS platforms, prompting some candidates and education experts to raise alarm.
The agitations saw the exam council on November 25, acknowledge these irregularities.
But the lobbies fault the council in the petition for "doing nothing to correct the anomalies."
"Knec's handling and or release of the KCPE examinations 2023 results cast a shadow of doubt, and/or created uncertainty amongst the general public, on the ability (or otherwise capability) of Knec to discharge the respective mandate of its office as spelt out in the law and the constitution," the petitioners say.
The KCSE exam results were also not without controversy, with some candidates and parents staging protests and a court fight to have them tossed out.
For example, a Kitengela-based international school staged protests at the Knec offices on November 26, with parents questioning why the school, which typically performs well, recorded an abysmal performance in the national examinations.
The parents later sued to have the results annulled.
"As a parent representing my peers, I believe that this is a sincere injustice to the children of Kitengela International as indicated here and also to the children of other schools in this nation,” one of the parents said.
The case filing follows a public information request by the two lobbies to Knec on December 8, demanding to know the rectification measures that were being implemented to deal with the complaints but got no answer.
The information sought from Knec included its policy and guidelines on marking, award of marks and moderation process, the Knec examinations guidelines and regulations and the Knec policy and guidelines on compiling, verifying, reviewing and reporting examination results.
Other sought included the Knec service charter, a detailed audit of the examination process, statements and reports on the last review of any subsisting policies and guidelines stated and statements and reports on public participation and stakeholder input in formulating subsisting policies and guidelines.
The lobbies say they believe that the requested information is crucial in preventing future irregularities in the marking and releasing of national examination results.
"Knec, however, did not respond, even when the Ombudsman intervened," KHRC said on Wednesday in a brief that announced the suit.
"Currently, Knec's grading process is unclear. Reports indicate that Knec provides markers with predetermined targets, pushing them to assess a high volume of papers, a practice that may compromise the quality of results," KHRC said.
"Additionally, the conditions under which markers are accommodated during the marking process remain unclear, potentially impacting their mental well-being."
"The lack of such clarity and transparency makes the process of grading opaque and Knec unaccountable."
As such, the two lobbies say the demanded forensic audit should include the process of marking, award of marks, moderation process, compilation, verification, and review of the results.
Knec and Education CS have 90 days to complete the audit should the court rule in the petitioner's favour.
Should the court compel Knec and Education CS to do the audit and fail, KHRC and EBWG say the exam body should be barred from ever "setting and conducting any KCSE examinations including issuing KCSE examinations results and certificates".
