Security tightened as 952,472 sit KCPE exams

Education officials were not leaving anything to chance as this year’s national primary school exams kicked off yesterday.

They took positions in various regions across the country to ensure there were no irregularities, even as 952,472 candidates started writing the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams.

Candidates were thoroughly screened before being allowed into examination rooms on day one that featured Mathematics, English Language and English composition.

Additional security measures were taken in the distribution of examination papers, including storing them in metallic containers that were simultaneously opened at 5am in all sub-county education offices.

All school heads picked exam papers from the various collection points where they were vetted and had to produce their identification documents before being given the exams. Security was tight as the head teachers, who are the examination centre managers, were called in one by one to pick papers for the exams of the day. They were escorted by armed police officers back to their stations.

Sub-county directors of education and county commissioners were the only ones with the keys to the two padlocks securing the containers carrying the papers.

In the past, exam papers were kept in police armouries days earlier and supervisors would collect them at police stations, which offered avenues for leaks.

But yesterday, armed police officers escorted each school head back to their centres where papers were kept under lock and key until 8.30am when the exams started.

Candidates were asked to verify that the papers had been sealed completely before they were opened. Any extra papers were sealed in exam bags and kept in front of candidates.

Candidates were not allowed to access examination rooms before 8am. Some schools did not allow candidates to have extra clothing including sweaters and scarfs.

Teachers started frisking candidates at 8am to ensure they don’t sneak any material into the examination rooms. They were not allowed to get in with clip boards and geometrical sets. Geometry instruments, pencils and rubbers had to be carried in see-through polythene bags.

NO ELECTRONICS

Also, every examination room had about 20 candidates and each was 1.22 meters away from the next one as per the new regulations.

Candidates, head teachers, supervisors, invigilators and police officers were not allowed to enter examination rooms with mobile phones or any electronic devices. A spot check by The Standard revealed electronic devices were kept in school offices. 

Candidates’ names were printed and plastered on the desks alongside their admission numbers. Their desks had also been scrubbed to remove any writings.

Once inside the exam room, no candidate was allowed to visit the wash-room unless in the company of an armed police officer.

This was witnessed at Moi Avenue Primary School in Nairobi, where nervous candidates who asked to visit the washrooms about 10 minutes to the exams were accompanied by police officers.

School head, Eunice Mulati, confirmed they had two officers unlike in previous years when they had one.

Other teachers with no role in the exams and pupils were not in schools. Only school heads and some subordinate staff, especially those cooking for the candidates, were present.

After unveiling the exam papers, at least two candidates, a boy and a girl for mixed schools, were asked to inspect the package and sign in the space provided on the exam bag, once satisfied they had not been opened. The head teacher was also expected to sign.

The bold green packet carrying the exam papers had a clear cautionary message: ‘It is a criminal offence to tamper with or open this packet before the date and time authorised.

At 8.10 am, the invigilator at Moi Avenue Primary School distributed samples of answer sheets to the candidates that showed how they would shade the answer sheets.

At 8:20 am, the packets carrying the exams were brought in, inspected and distributed. The invigilators kept reminding candidates to ensure they enter their details correctly.

And at 8:30am, the bell rang and the exams started. At the end of the three papers, head teachers were handed the answer sheets to return to the collection points, again under  armed escort.

The routine was replicated in 26,308 centres across the country. Of the candidates, 473,719 are girls representing 49.7 per cent of the total candidate count.

Today, the candidates will tackle Science, Kiswahili Lugha and Kiswahili Insha before sitting Social Studies and Religious Education on the last day tomorrow.

To ensure compliance with the new security measures, Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) chairman George Magoha were among top officials monitoring the exams. Matiang’i was in Vihiga County in the Western region as Prof Magoha toured centres in Nairobi.

Education principal secretaries Collette Suda and Belio Kipsang’ were deployed to Migori and Kilifi respectively while  Vocational and Technical Training Principal Secretary Dinah Mwinzi was in Embu.

Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia was in Eldoret as Jwan Julius of Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) monitored the exams in Nyeri Central. Director-General of Education Leah Rotich was in Nyeri. Sources at KNEC told The Standard this was aimed at ensuring strict compliance to the ‘no cheating strategies’ the council had laid down.

“We are not leaving anything to chance this time. This is a continuous process that we shall implement to the last day,” said a senior KNEC official.

A statement to newsrooms by Mercy Karogo of KICD said all measures had been put in place to ensure examinations are conducted in a free and fair environment.

She said various teams had been dispatched to different parts of the country to help in monitoring the examinations. Magoha oversaw the opening of the examination container in Makadara, Nairobi.