Academic giants cry: KCPE shocker for private schools
Parents teachers and pupils of Zayed Children Welfare School celebrate their top achievers Maad Mustafa (398) and Halima Kaingu (402) after receiving their KCPE results on December 21, 2022..
Thousands of learners in some of Kenya’s top private schools are in shock after receiving results that are way below their expectations in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations.
The release of KCPE results is traditionally received with joyous celebration and dancing at these perennial top performers, but after Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu released the results on Monday, there was muted or no jubilation at the schools.
The Nation has sampled some unofficial mean scores from some of the schools, which are below their previous performances.
Others have been reluctant to divulge the performance of their candidates, fearing that doing so might jeopardise their businesses.
The chair of the Kenya Private Schools Association Charles Ochome declined to give the mean scores of schools, saying that it would be in violation of the Data Protection Act.
High anticipation at Kitengela International School in Kajiado County dissipated after results showed none of the 170 candidates scored 400 marks. Also affected is its sister school in Syokimau, Machakos County, with 40 candidates. On Wednesday, candidates and parents began streaming into school early, ready for celebrations, but when the results began streaming in, the crowd fizzled out in disappointment.
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The majority of candidates have scored below 350 marks, with dozens of them having below 300 marks, the lowest ever performance in the school.
On Thursday morning, the management issued a statement saying there were no cases of irregularities.
“All our candidates have their results that are disputed by themselves, parents and administration. There were no cases of irregularities whatsoever. All of the candidates have their results that are disputed,” read part of the communication.
“We are committed to follow all constitutional and due procedures to retrieve the hard-earned rightful marks for every candidate. We ask all parents and guardians to stay calm, manage children patiently and continue praying,” the management said.
The school management and parents, led by a sitting Cabinet secretary, a former member of Parliament and a host of dignitaries then camped for hours at the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) headquarters to present their grievances.
However, they were turned away and asked to follow the due process where the headteacher is supposed to write a formal petition.
“It’s unfortunate we have been sent back to school to start a fresh formal petition. We sense foul play and business rivalry from our competitors. We expected to have more than 50 students scoring more than 400 marks,” said a senior school official in confidence because of the sensitivity of the matter. In the 2021 KCPE, the top two candidates at the school, Timothy Konya Abwao and Mercy Mwende Kioko, tied at 422 marks, while in the 2019 examinations, Sean Michael Ndung’u from the school scored 439 marks, just one behind the top candidate nationally.
The school has reached out to candidates and parents to remain calm as they try to seek “deferred” justice.
When the Nation visited the school in the afternoon on Thursday, the gates were closed, with little activity in the compound.
Inyokoni Primary School in Kaiti Constituency, Makueni County, had the best mean score nationally in the 2021 KCPE exams in the public school category after posting a mean score of 401.
Headteacher Samuel Mulwa Mwendo was awarded a Head of State Commendation during the World Teachers Day on October 5, 2022, for excellent performance in KCPE over the years. Eighty-two out of the school’s 124 pupils had 400 marks and above, with the lowest being 356 marks.
However, this year things have taken a drastic turn, with the best performing pupil getting 352 marks and many of the candidates below 300 marks.
In a parents’ WhatsApp group seen by Nation, they have rejected the results, saying their children were distraught. The parents are insisting that a way forward has to be found over the issue.
“Why are many pupils getting 72 and 73 marks in mathematics? Were these results generated? It raises more questions than answers,” wrote a parent.
“We demand our results since our children are depressed. It’s not a joke. How do you handle a teenager who has been quiet from 2pm and you don’t know what is going through their minds?” said another parent on the day the exams were released.
A parent said he had turned to counsellors for his son.
“I have talked to my son and sometimes he doesn’t eat. I’m trying to convince him to accept the results he didn’t expect. It is not easy,” said the father.
“You can even ask his teachers. The whole result of the school is difficult to comprehend, not only for me but other parents too. We are waiting for the way forward after being informed the board of directors have taken it over and are pursuing it with Knec,” he added.
The parent said he is ready to spend any amount of money for his son’s papers to be remarked, adding that his son has never scored less than 400 marks even in the mock and county exams done before the KCPE.
Makini School in Nairobi, which used to top the list of best schools before the Ministry of Education abolished ranking, is reported to have a mean score of 357.85.
When the Nation visited the school after the announcement of the results, the usual celebrations were missing. Makini School Kisumu last year produced the top girl nationally.
Another school whose performance appears to have dropped is Ruaraka Academy, also in Nairobi.
An analysis of the school’s results seen by Nation indicates the school has a mean score of 365.38, with the top candidate scoring 422 marks. The school was position one in Nairobi County in 2017, with its best candidate scoring 439 marks.
In 2018, the top candidate had 430 marks followed by another with 428 marks while two others tied at 427 marks. Thirty-four candidates had more than 400 marks and 46 of them had between 350 and 399 marks.
Some of the school managements, parents and candidates have since disputed the results and are pointing an accusing finger at the Ministry of Education.
Coveted slots
They fear that the candidates will now miss out on selection to top national and extra-county schools despite having invested heavily in private education to boost their chances of securing the few coveted slots.
Private primary schools have been outperforming public institutions, but the situation is different in secondary where public schools usually perform better.
Some previously top-performing public schools have also rejected the results, saying they do not reflect the ability of their learners.
“The consistency of complaints about marks deduction across different private schools cannot be a coincidence; it is rather clear there was moderation aimed at punishing private school candidates,” a parent who spoke to Nation said.
However, a ministry official denied any manipulation of results and said that closer monitoring of how examinations are conducted has reduced cases of ‘undeserved marks’.
“That’s the true reflection of their performance,” the official said, adding that the same monitoring has been applied in the administration of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations.
Knec CEO David Njeng’ere said: “Our rules and regulations allow them to raise queries. We will address them.”
Reporting by David Muchunguh, Stanley Ngotho and Cecil Odongo
