Magoha: Machakos principal’s Maths paper was fake

 

Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has termed as fake a Mathematics KCSE exam leaked on WhatsApp by a high school principal in Machakos County.

Prof. Magoha said the ministry examined the contents of the leaked paper and established it did not match the exam questions set in the KNEC test.

The minister made the remarks on Tuesday, April 6 at Moi Girls High School-Eldoret in Uasin Gishu County.

“I have been assured [by officers in my ministry] that the [Mathematics] paper, which was circulating [on WhatsApp] was fake. You don’t have to worry about the credibility of the exam,” he said, responding to questions fielded by journalists.

The CS said he suspects a fake exam syndicate is behind the circulation of the “leaked” paper.

“They are banking on teachers and students’ desperation to make a killing,” he added.

The minister said the exam’s credibility had not been interfered with, given “no fake [KCSE] paper has been confirmed to be in circulation”.

“We have enhanced nationwide surveillance to ensure the ongoing exams are not leaked ahead of the scheduled test time.”

The minister warned those circulating fake KCSE exams, saying they would be arrested and arraigned.

“Parents, teachers and students shouldn’t fall prey to this syndicate, who are only after their money,” he said.

The CS said so far -- since KCSE exams began on March 25 --, there has only been one test that was shared with students before its scheduled time. The matter is being handled by police, he stated.

“Leaking the examination 30 minutes to time won’t be beneficial to the candidates,” he said, adding: “Unlike previous years, one cannot open an exam paper before the scheduled time for collection. The security features on the packaging do not allow for a paper already tampered with to be repackaged without eliciting suspicion.”

On Tuesday, April 6, the principal of ABC Kiseveni Secondary School, Betta Mutuku, was arrested for allegedly leaking a Mathematics exam on the instant messaging platform, WhatsApp.

Prof. Magoha said a crackdown on exam cheating has been launched, and that 33 smartphones were recovered from candidates of a school in Wajir County.

“We are investigating whether the learners used the mobile devices to engage in exam-cheating.”

The students will, however, continue writing their tests uninterrupted, the CS said.