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.

The temptation to cheat by some schools - with the tacit support of uncaring parents - is informed by the desire to post higher mean grades, purely for competition. Because our education systems places higher premium on grades, there appears to be little regard for values and the rewards that accrue from hard work.

The concerns over exam cheating are so real that Cabinet Secretaries Fred Matiangi for Internal Security, Amina Mohamed for Education and Joe Mucheru for Information and Technology met yesterday to strategise how best to safeguard examinations papers against theft. That a huge number of police officers will be deployed to safeguard the examinations is telling enough. It is as if the country is preparing for war.

When Dr Fred Matiangi, then Cabinet Secretary for Education teamed with Prof George Magoha to drive out the cartels that traded in examination papers at the Kenya National Examinations Council in 2016, there was a significant drop in the number of grades A and B that many students sitting their O level examination used to score with ease, courtesy of cheating. That should have spurred teachers to greater effort, but there are some who still prefer shortcuts.

Just days to the start of examinations, every loophole that could be exploited to facilitate exam cheating should be sealed. While the imposition of stiffer penalties on perpetrators of cheating may not fully stop the vice, it is a good deterrent. And while acknowledging that no system is perfect, there must be deliberate measures taken to build institutions that outlive individuals whose dedication to duty bears positive results.