Government plans to monitor national examinations using AI

Kakamega Hill School, Junior school assessment candidates wait to start their exams in their examination room on October 27, 2025. [Benjamin Sakwa/ Standard]

The government has announced plans to begin monitoring national examinations using Artificial Intelligence (AI).

This is an attempt to curb exam irregularities and track learner enrolment across the country.

While presiding over the graduation of 240 learners who completed a six-month training programme in AI, machine learning and data science at the Meru University of Science and Technology, Director at the State Department of Basic Education Dr Sam Ngaruiya said the Ministry is in the final stages of developing a policy framework to integrate AI in all education services.

Dr Ngaruiya, who represented the Principal Secretary, Julius Bitok, noted that AI adoption will play a crucial role in strengthening accountability within the examination system and promoting digital learning.

“We are partnering with the Engage Programme because we believe that the introduction of machine learning and AI in senior school will be a good start,” he said.

He added that the Ministry is prioritising the integration of digital tools in teaching, assessment and remote learning.

“One of the key things going on under the education reform is encouraging digitisation of learning and the use of digital technology in lesson delivery,” he explained.

“The future of AI is important, and because of that, the Ministry is coming up with guidelines to guide us in the use of AI in the education sector.”

The learners graduated under the Engage Programme, an initiative designed to equip girls from under-privileged communities with skills in AI, data science and machine learning.

The project that runs in six universities in Kenya including, Meru, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, South Eastern, Kabarak, Dedan Kimathi and University of Nairobi, is implemented by the UoN in partnership with the University of California, San Francisco.

The Programme Investigator Professor Julius Oyugi said the initiative was born during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the country lacked adequate personnel to analyse health data. “We developed a proposal to train about 1,000 girls across the country on AI, data science and machine learning for public health solutions,” he said.

Prof. Oyugi noted that Engage has already shown transformative results. “Last year, 53 per cent of the girls we trained got jobs,” he reported, adding that this year the programme expanded to include high school students, many of whom had never used a computer before the training. [