The Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) has acted to allay the rising concerns over the credibility of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results of the 2025 cohort, after rumors emerged online suggesting some schools had paid for improved results.
In a statement released on Wednesday, January 21, KNEC referred to the claims being spread on social media platforms as “false and misleading,” indicating that the content of the messages was meant to affect the public’s confidence in the national examination process.
The council was reacting to a popular posting on the Facebook website where one individual claimed to have met a KCSE candidate who had scored an A- grade but was not able to communicate effectively in English. The posting continued to insinuate that the candidate had been involved in examination irregularities when the author said, “Now you see what I meant about schools buying examination results?”
The KNEC quickly disputed the claim, saying that no school or person has the capacity to manipulate or buy the KCSE results. The council explained that the viral piece of news was only meant to mislead the people of Kenya.
“As a warning to those who might be involved in spreading ‘fake news’, KNEC urges members of the public to seek information through official channels only,” KNEC said.
This comes at a time when the 2025 KCSE examination results have attracted widespread scrutiny from the public due to concern over the performance of candidates during the previous examination. This has led to a demand for a review by some leaders.
Among them is Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah, who has disputed the approach adopted by the KNEC in the exams. Through a statement dated January 13, the senator gave the exam body a seven-day ultimatum to reconsider the results, which he argued were marred by “fundamental injustice.”
Omtatah was particularly worried about the case of Kenya Sign Language (KSL), where the subject was not included in the final grade calculation for some candidates with disabilities, despite being compulsory for those learners.
“KSL was selectively exempted from the final calculation of grades for some applicants after the examination, and this was done in a manner that lacks notice, consultation, and legal basis,” he said.
Despite mounting pressure, KNEC has continued to assert that the KCSE examination exercise is intact and free from doubts as it continues to call for clarity between facts and rumors on social media platforms.
