Factors influencing Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination irregularities in Rachuonyo South district, Homa-bay county, Kenya

Abstract

The study focused on Factors Influencing Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Examinations Irregularities in Rachuonyo South District, Homa Bay County, Kenya. In Rachuonyo South District, cases of examination irregularities have been reported each year. In 2007, a school had the KCSE results of all its students cancelled because of irregularities, while in the year 2012; a school had been banned from being an examinations centre because of continued cases of examinations irregularities. The same year (2012), another school had the results of its candidates cancelled because of irregularities in the examinations, KNEC, (2012). It was therefore important to investigate factors influencing Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education irregularities in Rachuonyo South District. The study was informed by the objectives, that ranking of schools, wide secondary curriculum, administration of examinations; learning facilities and competition for the limited university admission were some of the factors that lead to examinations irregularities. These factors were assumed to be moderated by Kenya National Examinations Council policies on examinations. The study was considered significant in informing all the key participants in the field of education to adopt best examination management practices to improve the quality of education in the country. The basic assumptions on which the study was anchored were, that sample study would be representative of the target population, data collection instruments would be valid and reliable and that the respondents would be willing to give information objectively. A Survey research design was used as the research design for this study. The target population included all head teachers of secondary schools in Rachuonyo South District (64), all secondary teachers in the district (1200) and all candidates of 2013 KCSE in the district (4200). The sample for the study included 56 head teachers, 291 teachers and 291, candidates in Rachuonyo South District. Stratified simple random sampling technique was employed to select respondents into the final sample. Data was collected using questionnaire, which comprised of both open ended and closed ended items. To improve the validity and reliability of the data collection instrument, piloting was done on the instrument and changes made as necessary. The study established that ranking of schools, wide secondary curriculum, and administration of examinations; learning facilities and competition for the limited university admission had significant influence on examination irregularities. In the research, it was recommended that similar studies be replicated in the entire nation to collectively address issues of examination irregularities.