A Nakuru-based doctor filed a suit against the Ministry of Education and the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) on Wednesday to stop them from issuing the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) repeaters’ examination planned for July 2025.
First, the plaintiff, Dr Magare Gikenyi, filing the case at a High Court in Kisii, says the college entrance tests for those who failed the KCSE 2024 and private candidates are biased against the poor, as many cannot afford the requisite Ksh7,200 for successful registration. By basing registration decisions for those tests on mandatory fee payment, he argues, the system illegally discriminates against applicants based on their economic background and denies them equal protection under the Kenyan Constitution.
Secondly, Gikenyi, a consultant surgeon and activist, contends that, in general, the introduction of the 2025 KCSE July Series Examination will lead to the creation of a vast test-prep industry that privileges those in the normal secondary school cycle as it infringes on the “legitimate expectation” of repeaters to adequately prepare and sit the exams in November, as has been the tradition.
> Best Students in KCSE 2024 and Their Schools
“The mandatory nature (as opposed to choosing either the July or November examination series) goes against the right of every individual to choose an examination that is convenient for him or her. This contradicts the right to enjoy the fundamental freedoms in the Bill of Rights to the greatest extent, as provided in Article 20(2) of the Constitution, which states: ‘Every person shall enjoy the rights and fundamental freedoms in the Bill of Rights to the greatest extent consistent with the nature of the right or fundamental freedom,'” his petition reads in part.
According to him, the inadequate time to prepare and the high registration fees are further exacerbated by the Ministry of Education’s imposition of a short registration deadline—21st February.
“Impugned administrative action guidelines, with a short preparation period, will impede one’s efforts to achieve his or her economic and labour market potential, ostensibly by scoring lower than expected. These actions and/or omissions contravene Articles 10, 41, 43, and 73 of the Constitution.”
Supporters of the tests say they provide a uniform way of judging students from different schools and backgrounds and that all repeaters and private candidates must register for the July series rather than the November KCSE. However, Gikenyi maintains that the decision was made without proper public participation from relevant stakeholders, including students and their parents.
For this reason, he listed the Kenya Parents Association, the Kenya Private Schools Association, and the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) as interested parties in the case. Lady Justice Odera Theresa Achieng has directed that the respondents, along with KNEC CEO David Njeng’ere, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, and the Attorney General, be served with the suit by 30th January at the latest.
“If this honourable court does not stop the illegal actions and/or omissions by the respondents, then the outlined constitutional violations will continue against the rule of law and principles of good governance,” Gikenyi concludes in his petition.
The medical doctor told Lady Justice Achieng that allowing the candidates to sit for the exams would violate their rights to education, fair administrative action, and public participation, contravening all four principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as stipulated by the UN.
Leave a comment