Samuel Otieno And Ayub Savula
21 March 2008
Nairobi — The Government has bowed to pressure and appointed a committee to investigate the grading of some last year's KCSE candidates.
Kenyatta University Vice-Chancellor, Prof Olive Mugenda, will lead a 15-member committee to investigate the hitch that affected 4,438 candidates.
The committee members appointed by Education minister, Prof Sam Ongeri, are drawn from education, religious groups, secondary school principals and experts in information, communication and technology.
Last Wednesday, Ongeri promised that he would get to the bottom of the matter that affected 857 schools.
However, the minister said last year's KCSE examinations would not be remarked, re-sat or cancelled.
Ongeri had termed the hitch "negligible to warrant the alteration of all results".
However, Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) Chairman, Prof Raphael Munavu, said the council had scrutinised the results and confirmed that the subject grades for candidates were correct as released by Ongeri.
"However, the calculation of mean grades (aggregate) for some candidates was found to have been faulty," said Munavu.
The committee has been given up to April 7 to complete the investigation and give a report.
Other members are Anglican Church of Kenya Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims, Prof A Elbusaidy, Prof Kashorda Meoli, Lenana School principal, Mr Peter Warui, and Mr Andrew Mungai, the ICT Director at Kenyatta University.
Others are Prof PM Syagga of the University of Nairobi, Director Industrial Training, Mr MO Kidenda, Dr Elijah Omwenga, the ICT director at the University of Nairobi and former chief executive officer of Kasneb, Mr Erastus Gitau.
Schools and candidates have been given up to April 30 to raise queries over KCSE results as provided for in KNEC regulations.
Meanwhile, ODM has demanded that the Government cancel last year's KCSE results and remark the examinations.
The ODM MPs held a news conference at Parliament Buildings and accused Ongeri of handling the matter casually.
They said KNEC should also be investigated over what they called the "worrying frequency of mistakes" in national examination.
They said measures should be taken to restore the integrity of the examination process.
ODM Parliamentary Group Secretary and Budalang'i MP, Mr Ababu Namwamba, read the MPs' statement.
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