Where do missing marks go?

The missing marks are a common phenomenon among all public Kenyan Universities. The speech of Professor Jacob Kaimenyi on 5^th November 2014 in a forum with the heads of universities of Kenya universities discussing on students Unrest revealed that one of the causes of student’s unrest and strikes is the missing marks. The big question is where do the missing marks go?

 After students have done the exams they submit their answer sheets to the invigilators who submit them to the lecturers of the course who mark them. The lecturers mark the exams and record them then return the exams to the examination department. At times lecturers mix up the papers and some of them are very poor record keepers who end up not recording other student’s marks. Other students forget to write their admission numbers on the answer sheets or they write them in an unclear manner that they cannot be read. Those who realize they have a missing mark make a follow up early on their missing marks. However it’s not easy to get the missing mark recorded because even locating the lecturer who taught you the course is a big problem. You are likely to be told the lecturer went to study abroad, the lecturer is not available, and they are temporarily out of the country to attend an international meeting and other such excuses. Lazy students will lose the morale to make follow up on the missing marks until the graduation is around.    Before graduating students are given a chance to confirm their names are correctly written and their marks are recorded well in all the exams that they sat throughout their study period. This is the time when others realize that they have a missing mark. The period is long enough to allow for the students to look up for the lecturers who taught them the course, the lucky ones find their answer sheets and their problems are sorted before they graduate. The unlucky ones have to wait for another academic year and seat for the exam. This leads to delayed graduation and realization of students dreams.

The issue of missing marks is an all round responsibility. The student and the lecturers should be involved in ensuring that the marks are recorded appropriately and whenever the student miss their marks they should make a follow up as early as possible.