KNEC announces new measures to curb exam cheating

Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) has announced measures aimed at curbing the rampant cases of exam leakage that has marred this year’s exercises.

The new measures include barring students from entering examination rooms with logarithm tables and thoroughly frisking them before they are admitted into the rooms.

The council has also announced stringent measures aimed to prevent teachers and invigilators from perpetuating exam cheating including unspecified punishment and cancellation of their allowances.

National Assembly Education Committee has moved to intervene in the matter with its chairperson Sabina Chege giving KNEC a two-day ultimatum to present details of exam leakage to the National Assembly.

The 2015 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) has been marred with reported cases of leaked exam papers circulating prior to the day of the examination.

Despite evidence pointing at the massive irregularities, Education Cabinet Secretary Prof Jacob Kaimenyi has put on a brave face and dismissed the reports saying the papers in circulation are fake.

Speaking on Monday, Chege, who is also Muranga County Women representative, linked security officers with the high cases of exam leakage, allegations that police spokesman Charles Owino has vehemently denied.

Chege said police officers were opening the papers in their custody and sending questions to students, parents and teachers through social media.

She accused head teachers and invigilators of working in cahoots with the police, saying they were aiding in exam cheating by accepting papers that had been tampered with.

Chege further noted that, it is a pity that police officers were allegedly leaking exam papers which they have been entrusted to keep safe.

In disputing the reports, Owino asked Chege to furnish the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) with evidence linking officers to the leakage.

Owino said officers had for the past 50 years stored exam papers at police stations during examination period without any cases of leakage.

He said, the national exam papers are usually collected from KNEC stores in Nairobi and delivered under police escort to all regional stores in the country, where they remain under police guard.

Owino added that the papers are later taken to various police stations for temporary storage and for easy delivery to schools.

He stated that he had not received any complaints that sealed exam envelopes in the custody of police had been tampered.

This comes even as Kibera Member of Parliament Ken Okoth called on the Ministry of Education to make public the names of teachers and invigilators who have colluded with students in cheating in exams for the last 10 years.

Okoth also told the Ministry to highlight the punishment given to such culprits urging CS Kaimenyi to put in place strategies which will ensure exams in Kenya maintain their credibility by hiring private security companies to escort the exams.