Thousands fail to register as exams website slowed down by demand

Thousands of candidates may miss Monday’s deadline to register for this year’s national examinations due to a computer glitch.

More than one million candidates are expected to register for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education and  Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations this year.

This has resulted in the Kenya National Examinations Council website getting clogged.

On Thursday, the council admitted that its online registration had a “jam” because of a last-minute rush by schools to beat the deadline.

“There is congestion because most schools decided to upload details of their learners from mid-March even though the online registration opened on November 1, 2013,” the council’s public communications officer, Ms Frida Were, said.

“The large number of users visiting the website simultaneously is causing a jam,” she said.

But the council added that the malfunction could also be due to the fact that this is the first time principals were uploading details of each pupil or student online.

“Previously they would register the students offline then upload the details of the examination centre. Now, they are required to fill in the details of each student and upload their photos. Everything is being done online,” Ms Were said.

She did not say whether or not the council would extend the deadline.

“We will first find out how many schools have not registered before deciding if we will extend the deadline or not,” said the communications officer.

Parents and schools have already called on the council to extend the deadline.

By Thursday afternoon, 830,000 KCPE and 450,000 KCSE candidates had been registered.

Last year, 839,759 pupils sat for the KCPE exam while more than 450,000 students wrote the Form Four test.

In the past, the registration of candidates was done at the beginning of the year but this has been changed to November.

Candidates log in to www.knec.ac.ke and upload their details, including photographs.

Private candidates are required to download registration forms from the website and present them to district education officers.

Kibos Prison Primary School head teacher Joseph Ndome said he works at night when internet connectivity is faster.

“During the day, I could only upload details of one student every two hours. But it gets better from midnight to around 8am,” he said.

The Kisumu county director of education, Mr Sylvester Mulambe, said: “The jam is as a result of a last-minute rush by school heads. But we will have ascertained the number of schools that have registered and those that have failed by Friday evening.”

THE PROCESS

How to register online for exam

1. Registration for KCPE from January 1 to March 31 preceded by a pre-registration period from November 1 to December 31. Deadline: March 31, 2014.

2. Candidates for KCPE and KCSE should visit www.knec.ac.ke and upload details and photographs.

3. Private candidates should download forms, fill them and present them to district education officer.

4. Amendments to names can only be done after results are out, but headteachers must write explaining origin of mistake and pay Sh3,000 per candidate.

Still, knec may decline based on its reasoning.