RNEC in exam results mix-up

KIGALI - Several students who scored good grades in Economics and History across the country, in last year’s A Level exams, probably did not deserve it, The New Times has learnt. In the results released last week, according to reports from teachers, the National Examinations Council mixed up the results, whereby results for History subject were recorded as Economics and vice versa. The circumstances under which it happened still remain a mystery. It is however, understood that the teachers discovered the anomaly after obtaining results from the council which showed that some candidates had performed highly in the subject they least expected good grades. The flaw affected all students taking History, Economics and Geography combination (HEG). Speaking to The New Times yesterday, Maxon Kasumba, a history teacher at Lycee de Kigali, who even led a team of teachers marking history last year, said he was surprised. “It is totally outrageous. It is very bad on the part of the students, school, examination council and the Ministry of Education,” he said. Efforts to get answers from the council’s Executive Secretary, John Rutayisire, were futile. But Jovias Gasita, who is in charge selection and orientation at the examinations body, acknowledged the problem, though he downplayed its negative impact. “We discovered and arrested the error in time. We even corrected on our website. Apart from interchanging the results, it has no effect on the overall grades,” he said. He challenged anybody with doubts; teacher, parent or student, to visit the council and verify. Asked whether the council lacked the necessary software to detect such an error, he said they had one. The head teacher of Kagarama Secondary School, Sam Nkurunziza, said he learnt with deep concern that there was a mix up in the results lists. “I went to the Council and they admitted that they had confused History and Economics when compiling the lists. They gave me a new list and said the mix up did not affect the grading,” he said. Nkurunziza, explained that they became suspicious of the results after seeing that three of their students had recorded grade B - yet they had emerged among the best 15 students countrywide. The best students must have obtained grade A. One female student said she would challenge the results which show that she had failed her favourite Economics subject and passed her formerly worst subject, History. In last year’s Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), for instance, eight candidates at Mukungu ADPR examination centre in Karongi District, received examination papers for which they were not meant to sit. The Rwanda National Examination Council sent eight copies of the English examination scripts together with Mathematics paper that was supposed to be done on a different day. It was only after the exam that the candidates realized that they had sat for a wrong paper. The eight students were then immediately isolated from the rest in order to avoid leaking the exam to their colleagues. Ends