Opposition leader Raila Odinga has alleged that this year’s national examinations were printed on Mombasa Road after the cancellation of the contract with UK-based Stephen Austin Printing Ltd, which, according to Odinga, refused to offer kickbacks.
Odinga claimed that the UK firm had been handling exam printing since 2016, providing necessary security for both KCSE and KCPE exams. He emphasized the reliability and integrity brought about by the UK company’s services during that period.
“This is a security printing firm that deals with several exams and other high-stakes documents in different parts of the world. Kenyans will agree that, in that period, sanity returned in the management of exams, with grades that reflected reality,” Odinga stated.
According to Odinga, the Kenya Kwanza administration abruptly terminated the contract earlier this year because the UK company refused to provide kickbacks. He criticized the decision to choose a Kenyan company, based on political affiliations, that lacked the capacity to print and secure the exams.
“We are aware that the Mombasa Road company then had to outsource the exam printing services from a company based in India, where the exams were printed in a hurry,” Odinga revealed.
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Odinga further highlighted that the UK firm failed to provide codes for many layers of security that had been encrypted to safeguard the integrity of both KCPE and KCSE. He connected this to widespread claims of exam marking irregularities, leading to students challenging their awarded grades in court.
“Consequently, for the first time in our country, some children are in court, seeking to establish their true grades while the education ministry is admitting students to Form One, including those still challenging the marks they were awarded,” Odinga expressed concern.
He also raised worries about the reputation of Kenyan students, especially those seeking employment abroad, as a result of the exam controversies.
