The release of the 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results has plunged a section of parents, students, and school administrators into confusion and frustration following technical issues with the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) portal.
The portal, designed to provide direct access to individual results, reportedly went down shortly after Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos officially announced the results on Thursday morning.
In his address, CS Migos outlined the process for accessing results through KNEC’s secure online portal, results.knec.ac.ke. He instructed candidates to input their index numbers and one of their registered names to retrieve the results. “Any candidates with difficulties accessing results should call KNEC toll-free numbers 0800724900 or 0800721410,” he added.
However, moments after this announcement, the portal experienced significant downtimes, rendering it inaccessible to many. This led to widespread delays, leaving parents, students, and schools in limbo.
Numerous Kenyans took to social media to voice their dissatisfaction with the technical hitches. Complaints highlighted long wait times and complete failure to load the portal. Many urged the examination council to address the issue urgently, pointing out the emotional strain caused by the delay.
The principal of Kereri Girls High School, in an interview with Citizen TV, confirmed the challenges, noting that accessing results for their students was sporadic and inconsistent. “From the time we requested for the results, there have been hitches, but for the few students we have seen their results, we observed grades like A- and B. We hope the network will be restored soon,” she remarked.
The online portal system, first introduced in 2023, marked a shift from the traditional Short Message Service (SMS) method. This change aimed to address complaints of fraudulent results being shared via SMS. However, the new system has faced recurring issues, as seen in the 2023 KCSE results release, where similar technical problems disrupted access.
This year’s KCSE examination saw 962,512 candidates sitting for the test, an increase from the 899,453 candidates in 2023. The results also revealed that 840 candidates were involved in examination irregularities, leading to the cancellation of their results.
Despite the challenges, preliminary access to some results has highlighted excellent performances in several schools, with reports of grades ranging from A- to B in the few results retrieved. CS Migos also emphasized that this year’s examination results reflect a commitment to maintaining integrity and fairness in the assessment process.
The ongoing frustrations underscore the need for KNEC to address its technical infrastructure. While the shift to an online system offers convenience and minimizes fraud risks, the council must ensure that its digital platforms can handle the high demand during results release. Stakeholders, including parents and education experts, have called for enhanced capacity and contingency measures to avoid a repeat of these challenges in future releases.
In the meantime, candidates and their families have been advised to exercise patience and seek assistance through KNEC’s toll-free lines. However, many are questioning the preparedness of the council to handle the growing number of candidates as digital systems take center stage in the education sector.
The 2024 KCSE results saga serves as a reminder of the critical role of reliable technology in education and the pressing need for investments in systems that can deliver efficiently and effectively.
