Spare no effort in safeguarding integrity of national exams

Student at Starehe Boys sit a KSCE physics practical exam in 2017. [File, Standard]

If repeated warnings by Prof George Magoha, Chairman of the Kenya National Examination Council are anything to go by, exam cheating is back. In the last few weeks, Prof Magoha has warned specific school heads to desist from exam cheating, a warning reiterated by Mr Belio Kipsang, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Education.

As possible centres where examination cheating is likely to occur, several schools are in the spotlight. For a number of years, examination cheating has eroded the dignity of our national exams; robbing them of the ability to be the true reflectors of the learners’ competency. Through cheating, some students posted grades that did not reflect their true worth. Consequently, some of them proceeded to universities where, unable to cope, have turned into rogue students.