Examination cheating in Kenya goes up by a record 70 per cent

Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i (right) receives the 2015 KCSE examination results from Knec Chief Executive Joseph Kivilu (left), Chairman Kabiru Kinyanjui (second left) and Principal Secretary, Department of Basic Education Belio Kipsang at Mitihani House, Nairobi. [PHOTO: MOSES OMUSULA/STANDARD]

NAIROBI: The results of more than five thousand Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates have been cancelled due to irregularities.

This is an increase from 2,975 candidates in 2014.

Isiolo County got the honours for being the only county with a clean record.

The counties that had the highest number of candidates involved in examination irregularities were Makueni (382), Bomet (343) and Kisii (294).

The three counties with the highest number of irregularities were Makueni (22), Nairobi (20) and Meru (18).

Narok, Kwale, Tana River and Nakuru counties had fewer than five candidates involved in cheating.

The number of examination centres involved in cheating rose to 305 last year, up from 174 in 2014.

Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Fred Matiang'i decried the high number of irregularities, saying the rate of cheating went up 70 per cent compared to the previous year.

"Results for all candidates who were involved in examination irregularities have been cancelled as it is our duty to the diligent candidates who do not involve themselves in examination irregularities to ensure that results are credible," said the CS.

Among the 5,101 candidates involved in examination malpractice, 2,538 were from 150 sub county schools, 1,817 from 56 county schools, 512 from 56 private schools, 64 from 14 national schools and 170 candidates from 29 private examination centres.

The CS said that only individual candidates were affected by the cancellations and not entire examination centres.

The CS said a secretariat will be set up at the Education ministry to guide candidates whose results were cancelled.

"The secretariat will be open from 8am to 5pm every day and the team will explain to the candidates why their results were cancelled," he said.

He said results for all candidates who were involved in examination irregularities had been cancelled to ensure that the overall results were credible.

validation of results

He said: "The processes undertaken by Knec during the marking, processing and validation of results has been thorough in a bid to counteract the challenges that were experienced during the examination administration process."

The CS emphasised that the Government had made progress in investigating the root causes of all the challenges that were experienced during the 2015 KCSE examination.

"Appropriate action will be taken on all persons found culpable. A total of 171 persons have been arrested and charged in court for committing various offences related to the 2015 KCSE examination," he added.

Those arrested include 11 school principals and deputy school principals, 34 teachers from public secondary schools, five teachers from public secondary schools, 22 university and college students, 104 KCSE examination candidates, two police officers and one TSC secretariat employee, among others.

He noted that the Education ministry is putting in place measures to ensure that the 2016 national examinations are better administered.

Last year, the Kenya National Examinations Council said that exam cheating had gone a notch higher due to advancement in technology.

This was after some candidates were found in possession of exam papers hours and even days before the actual KCSE papers were administered.

Fifteen candidates from a private school in Changamwe, Mombasa County were charged in court for being in possession of Kiswahili papers 1 and 2.

In Kiambu County, five students were arrested after they were found with reference materials while sitting for Biology Paper 1.

The 2015 KCSE examinations commenced with a teachers' strike ongoing, a factor blamed for widespread cases of leaked examination papers.