100 students miss results over cheating

Education PS Belio Kipsang flanked by Teachers Service Commission (TSC) CEO Nancy Macharia during the release of Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) 2018 in Nairobi, on Friday, December 21 2018 [David Njaaga,Standard]

One hundred candidates will not get their results after the examinations council cancelled their results due to cheating.

Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed, while releasing the results, said that even though there was no leakage in the 2018 KCSE, there were a number of centres where examination officials attempted to expose the examinations early.

The cancellation of the results was due to early exposure, impersonation, possession of unauthorised material and collusion.

“Most of these cases were detected and dealt with on the spot, thereby preserving the integrity of the examination,” said Ms Mohamed.

This is a sharp decline compared to the 1,205 cases of cheating reported last year. Amina said the decline was due to the measures authorities have put in place to fight examination cartels who had permeated the exam sector and were facilitating cheating, including leaking the papers.

She said six suspected masterminds of exam cheating had been arrested and taken to court.

“There was not a single question or examination paper that was leaked to anyone before the scheduled start of the individual examinations,” she said.

The CS said 191 people, including candidates, were arrested and arraigned in court for various examination offences. Some 56 cases are still pending in court.

She said the examination council is doing investigations in centres where malpractices were recorded and a report of the findings will be released before January 2019.

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) vowed to deal firmly with teachers who participate in irregularities associated with administration and management of exams.

TSC Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia said 62 cases of malpractices were registered and five teachers interdicted.

“Investigations are going on in the other cases. We will ensure the cases are concluded within the shortest time possible,” said Ms Macharia.

She said the commission has directed county and sub county directors to ensure all teachers in public and private schools are registered from January 2019.