Matiang’i catches principals by surprise with early exam results release

School principals were caught unawares by Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i's decision to release the 2016 Kenya Certificate of Secondary School (KCSE) results Thursday.

But headteachers in Nyeri County that Nation.co.ke talked to said they were happy the results were finally being released.

“I have just learned about that in the last five minutes while I was driving to Nyeri from Nairobi. I did not expect [the announcement]. I’m surprised,” Nyeri High School Principal James Maina said.

Mr Maina said he was confident students from his school had performed well and hoped that the results would reflect their hard work and dedication.

“We have to embrace the system because when the marking is over, there is no point of keeping the results for too long,” he said.

He further said the longer the results are kept under wraps the higher the chances that bad minds could seek to alter the marks and bribe their way to top grades.

Jane Kirarugi of Bishop Gatimu Ngandu Girls said she had heard over the radio that the results would be released Thursday afternoon.

“When the KCPE results were announced early, we were expecting KCSE would be no different,” she said, adding that there is nothing wrong with releasing the results earlier than usual and in the surprise way the minister had done it.

She said she hoped the students who sat the exam will perform well.

“It readies a student to decide on the next step to take in life,” she said.