Positive steps towards credible examinations

Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i. (Photo: Pius Cheruiyot/Standard)

The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exams end today in an exercise that has been remarkably different from the past. At the beginning of the year, Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i announced measures to restore the credibility of our national examinations.

He started by reconstituting the Kenya National Examinations Council and even reorganising the school terms. Though he didn’t reveal other measures then, we have seen some of them during this year’s KCPE.

And the indications are that the Government this time is serious on stamping out cheating.

Senior education officials led by the Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i were on the ground supervising the examinations. Higher Education PS Collete Suda and Basic Education PS Belio Kipsang were in Migori and Coast respectively.

There were additional security measures during the distribution of the papers including storing them in metallic containers. The candidates were also taken through rigorous checks and were not allowed to get into examination rooms with clip boards and geometrical sets.

Though it might be too early to say whether or not there were malpractices, the Government’s resolve is evident.

We hope that this is just but the first step towards restoring credibility in our national examinations. We need to see the same kind of vigilance extended to the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations.

Cheating in national examinations has a negative effect on society since it will give rise to academic fraud. If allowed to flourish, it will give rise to men and women armed with academic certificates, but without the prerequisite knowledge. They will thus have defeated the goals of education because they cannot apply what they learnt back in school.

This is the reason we must fully support the initiatives and measures taken by Dr Matiang’i and his team.