Remain vigilant to curb examination cheating in the coming weeks

It was with some relief that the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations ended uneventfully this week, dispelling fears that the stand-off over the presidential poll would disrupt the exercise. Except for a few attempts to cheat, cases where candidates attempted to carry examination material into test centres were seldom reported. However, the marking exercise that began yesterday will determine whether or not students found alternative avenues to cheat.

This notwithstanding, the Ministry of Education commendably handled the logistical challenges, ensuring that most test centres received examination material on time. As is common at this time of the year, heavy rains disrupted the distribution of examination material in some regions, but as a result of the quick response, some papers were flown to test centres so that students could start writing them on time. In the past, such delays often resulted in collusion where students who were starting their papers later than their colleagues would receive answers to the questions they were about to be presented with by those who had already perused the exam material.

But we are not out of the woods yet as the examinations are not over. The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) proper starts on Monday after the completion of practical papers. Greater vigilance will be required during the invigilation and supervision of these exams as they are conducted over a longer period, providing more opportunities for candidates to cheat.

The expectation, however, is that cases of cheating will be minimal and that the KCSE will be completed in the coming weeks so that marking can begin. Plans by the Ministry of Education to purchase more sophisticated scanning equipment to mark KCPE exam are laudable.

Every effort must be made to improve the credibility of the marking process as well as hasten moderation exercise so that candidates are not left in suspense during the Christmas holidays.