Activist Omtatah wants Knec to release answer sheets

A rights activist has gone to court seeking to compel the national examiner to release the marked answer sheets to schools.

In his suit against the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec), Mr Okiya Omtatah argues that failure to release the scripts for primary and secondary school tests is a violation of a fundamental right.

He observed that it has been the tradition for Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) answer sheets to be kept by Knec.

However, he argued, the candidates who have sat those tests have every right to access the marked papers.

CREDIBLE RESULTS
Teachers, too, have a right to access the answer sheets in order to gauge their students’ performance and facilitate school-based audit of results with the aim of improving them, Mr Omtatah said.

He said that the release of the papers would ensure validity, reliability and accuracy of marks allocated and eliminate anomalies such as the possibility of wrong results being awarded.

“It’s in the best interest of the children that the examination results be versatile and reliable and that the process of collating as well as tallying be as credible and transparent as possible,” Mr Omtatah said.

ANSWER SHEETS
The activist argued that failure to release the marked answer sheets is arbitrary and leaves the marking shrouded in secrecy, which amounts to denying the candidates a fair hearing.

“The release of the answer sheets as sought will not compromise the integrity of the examination or the process nor infringe on the right of anyone’s privacy so as to qualify for exemption under Section 42(2) of the Knec Act,” he said.

Mr Omtatah wants the High Court to compel Knec to release certified copies of all the marked answer sheets for this year’s KCPE and KCSE exams.

Justice John Mativo certified the case as urgent and directed that the matter be heard on a priority basis on January 24.