All private exam centres to be closed, PS Belio Kipsang says

The Government has announced that all private examination centres will be closed beginning next year to curb rampant cases of impersonation.

According to the Ministry of Education, the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) has received a number of complaints from stakeholders concerning students registering for examinations as private candidates.

Speaking in Kisii yesterday, Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang said private candidates would be forced to register for exams in public institutions.

"This year, our challenge has been how to curb the issue of impersonation. We have had a few cases across the country but we have a capable team of inspectors who managed to arrest the culprits," said Prof Kipsang.

The PS, who was inspecting the ongoing Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exams in Kisii County, said the success of the country would be based on a better academic programme.

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"We must maintain our integrity in the way we handle examinations. The media has played a critical role in highlighting some of the challenges we have been facing and let it be known that everybody will carry his/her cross," said Kipsang.

He said Kisii had experienced unprecedented unrest in a number of schools but maintained that a major cause was related to examinations.

"We have made major strides and this will be a thing of the past," he said.

Knec board chairman George Magoha, who accompanied the PS, said parents would begin to appreciate hard-earned examinations grades.

"This is a transformation period. We must have results that reflect the capacity of our children," said Prof Magoha.

Kipsang arrived at the Kisii Central dispatch centre at 5am where he addressed school heads and security personnel and later visited Nyabururu Girls National School, Kisii High and Sironga Girls High School in Nyamira County.

He said the visit to Nyabururu Girls was made following last week's incident where students stormed out of the school after the school head, Elmelda Ochene, was interdicted.

Maria Cherono, the Ministry of Education's director in charge of field and other services, will be supervising the exams in Kisii for the next one week.

Dr Kipsang was also accompanied by Kisii County Commissioner Kula Hache and County Administration Police Commander Mohamed Kutsola.