KNEC Speaks On Alleged Hacking Of Website To Alter KCSE Results
On Monday, the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) issued a warning to the public, advising them to be cautious of individuals who falsely claim to possess the ability to manipulate the agency’s portal to change the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results.
In the recent announcement of the results, Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu disclosed that, for the first time, parents and candidates will be able to check the results through the portal. This comes as the government discontinues the SMS channel, which has been the traditional means relied upon by Kenyans for the past two decades.
As a result, the examination authority released screenshots on Monday morning, supposedly provided by the scammers. These images displayed a counterfeit URL for the KNEC website, aiming to deceive Kenyan individuals.
In a fabricated post, a student who initially received a D+ had their grade boosted to a C+. The post included contact information for anyone interested in having their grades changed.
“Do not fall prey to fraudsters purporting to be able to change KCSE grades. Don’t be conned!” KNEC warned.
This caution arises amid growing anxieties from numerous students and parents regarding the disappointing outcomes of the recently published 2023 KCSE results, which were disclosed just a week ago.
Students at Oruba Boys Secondary School in Migori, for example, raised concerns regarding their exam outcomes, as a significant number of them received grades of D.
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“We sat for the exams as 75 candidates but what we saw was unexpected. It is full of irony. We haven’t seen this before,” one of the students, lamented.
Just one day following the publication of the KCSE results, there were numerous worries regarding the purported irregularities in the outcome displayed on the KNEC portal.
For example, Homabay Member of Parliament Peter Kaluma presented a screenshot claiming that the academic outcomes of a student in Nairobi were manipulated, changing the average grade from B+ to A-.
He posted an additional screenshot on his X account, claiming alterations in the outcomes of a nationwide boys’ school. The image depicted a purported shift in the average chemistry grade from B+ to A-, as supposedly indicated on the portal.
In the 2023 KCSE exams, the number of candidates rose to 903,260, marking a growth from the 881,416 students who participated in the exams in 2022.
Ezekiel Machogu, the Education Cabinet Secretary, revealed that in 2023, 1,216 candidates, constituting 0.14 percent, achieved straight A grades, a slight increase from the 1,146 recorded in 2022.
In summary, 7,254 received a grade of A- (minus), 18,078 achieved a B+ (plus), 36,728 obtained a B (plain), and 78,343 earned a C+ (plus).
KNEC Speaks On Alleged Hacking Of Website To Alter KCSE Results