Judgment reveals how KNEC nabbed students who cheated in a literature paper

Justice John Mativo at the High Court in a past case. [File]

A class of 131 candidates whose KCSE examination results were cancelled in 2015 provided incorrect but identical answers to an English literature question.

The Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) told the High Court it concluded the students had cheated as they wrote similar answers even though they were wrong.

In its submissions in a case students of Kaboson Girls Secondary School wanted it to release their results, the examination agency argued it is impossible for the candidates to had a similar thought process.

Knec said they expected different narrations, from the students, in response to the question.

The agency told court the students also used identical phrases while answering the questions which led to their conclusion the candidates had either been coached before taking the paper or were coached during the exam.

Knec maintained it was not possible to have had similar answers if the petitioners had worked independently.

It is for this reason that High Court judge John Mativo, on Tuesday, dismissed the case filed by the students.

Mativo said Knec had provided enough evidence that candidates had cheated and that they should repeat their cancelled exam.

Justice Mativo said the court could not interfere with the decision. He said an order forcing the examination body to release the cancelled results would lead to anarchy in the education sector.

“Academic dishonesty is a corrosive force in the academic life of learning institutions and is an evil that must be fought zealously. It jeopardises the quality of education and depreciates the genuine achievements of others. It is, without reservation, a responsibility of all members of the learning institutions to actively deter it,” the judge ruled.

“Taking into account the facts of this case and the need to uphold the integrity of exams, to grant the orders sought herein would bring the very process of examination into disrepute. It would breed despondency and dent public confidence in the conduct of examinations in this country.”