School owner, examiner held in raid on cheats

Police officer escorts KCPE exam centre manager at Hezta School in Olkalou Nyandarua County to a police vehicle after the school was suspected that they were stealing exams. [John Githinji, Standard]

Seventeen people have been arrested in connection with irregularities in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations.

A school proprietor and an invigilator were among six people arrested in Ol Kalau, Nyandarua County, yesterday for attempting to cheat in KCPE examinations.

Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang said two supervisors and two other persons were also arrested in the aborted examination-cheating scheme at the private school.

The officials will be arraigned today as new examination officials are appointed to complete the administration of the tests.

Dr Kipsang said the candidates will be allowed to complete the examinations today.

“The proprietor was in school against the Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) guidelines and investigations have been launched to ascertain what he was doing in the compound and his role in the planned scheme,” said Kipsang.

Details reveal that the arrested officials were colluding to sneak out an examination question paper to be worked out in a rented building near the school.

The answers to the questions were to be sneaked back to examination rooms for candidates to copy.

Kipsang said the plan was exposed through the two-kilometre radius surveillance rule that enhances security scrutiny of neighbouring areas of the school compound.

The details emerged on the second day of KCPE examinations. The tests are set to end today.

Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha is today expected to give a brief on the general administration of the examinations.

In Kakamega County, eight examination officials and three teachers from Matungu sub-county are also being held for engaging in irregularities in the ongoing exams.

The eight were alleged to have conspired to allow irregularities at their exam centre.

They are six invigilators, one centre supervisor and centre manager who also doubles up as the school headteacher.

During the first day of the exams on Tuesday, it was reported that a police officer manning the exam centre reported to his superiors that he had noticed some suspicious characters within the exam centre.

The centre manager had reportedly differed with the police officer over allocation of additional time to learners during Mathematics and English papers.

The school has 103 candidates spread across six streams.

The headteacher is reported to have instructed the officials to extend examination time by more 15 minutes.

The case escalated after it emerged that three teachers who work at the school were at the examination centre illegally on pretext of being cooks.

The three, who were supposed to be out on holiday, were seen interacting with the headteacher in one of the classrooms, raising suspicion of the police officer.

When the issue was raised, sub-county education officer together with the police led by the Matungu OCS Samuel Kinoti stormed the school.

Upon inspection, it was discovered that several invigilators had their phones, contrary to examination regulations.

Knec regulations have restricted the use and possession of mobile phones in examination centres, save for authorised officers.

Candidates together with the supervisors, invigilators and headteachers are forbidden from entering an examination room with phones.

The three teachers and the school headteacher were first to be taken in for interrogation on Tuesday evening.

Together, the 11 were summoned on Wednesday at Kakamega County police headquarters for statement recording and further interrogation by the Directorate of Criminal Investigation.

Early yesterday morning, county education officers together with the county police commander visited the affected centre to assess the situation. New team of examination officials were deployed.

Kakamega County Commissioner Pauline Dolla said exams at the centre would continue.

“We had to take the first step to ensure we secure the exams and ensure the exercise is ongoing,” said Ms Ndola, adding that the case was still under investigation before next course of action is taken.