Parents and students from remote parts of the country have been dealt a huge blow after the High Court allowed the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) to merge centres with less than 30 candidates.
KNEC had issued the directive, arguing that the mergers would help the state agency cut expenditure costs during the examination periods.
Parents of children sitting for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations will be forced to spend more in terms of transports costs and other bills that may arise in due course.
Appearing before Justice Antony Mrima, KNEC stated that the centres' merger would help improve the security and safety of candidates and examiners, address transport challenges, cut rising administration costs and maintain the integrity of tests.
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David Wanyeki Kago, had moved to court challenging the directive by KNEC. He argued that the agency failed to conduct public participation and that parents were not engaged before the directive was issued.
He also told the court that KNEC issued multiple contradictory circulars between May and July 2021 regarding the mergers.
Justice Mrima dismissed the petition stating that Kago had failed to challenge the last circular that was issued in July 2021.
"The July circular was to give fresh instructions on the joint hosting of examination centres. It is a stand-alone communication and it speaks clearly on what the addresses are to do," the judge said.
“The circular neither depends on nor is it an extension of the further June circular. This court must, however, state that the position would have been different had the July circular been disputed," he added.
Justice Mrima maintained that the court cannot act in vain and issue an order that serves no purpose.
"Quashing the circulars, in the unique circumstances of this case, will be an exercise in futility. It will yield to nothing as the joint hosting of the examination centres will still be undertaken on the basis of the July Circular. This court declines that invitation," he stated.
Kago wanted the court to quash three circulars issued in May and June 2021 by Knec on how it had planned to conduct the 2021 KCPE and KCSE examinations.
The court noted that the circulars were superseded by a further circular dated July 21, 2021.
The court further determined that the petitioner had challenged the hosting, not the registration of candidates hence there was no violation of the Knec rules.
Court papers indicated that the merger was also occasioned by shortage of police officers in the country, which had prompted Knec to get back up from the National Youth Service (NYS) servicemen to offer security at examination centres.
In the mergers, examination centres have been reduced to 15,648 from 31,294.
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