University student arrested with KCSE examination papers

Police in Nyamira are holding a university student who was found with numerous copies of what were confirmed to be copies of the ongoing Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations.

Nyamira County Police Commander Mwarungu Mwandoe said a verification of the copies of Thursday's Biology and Business Studies exams confirmed that they reflected questions that candidates tackled.

Three people who planned to sell the papers to a school in Ekerenyo sub-county were arrested, among them a Fourth Year Commerce student.

Mr Mwandoe said Ntana Secondary School Principal Jairus Alawar had alerted the local education office and area Administration Police Commander Fredrick Odinga that there was a gentleman who was trying to solicit cash from him in exchange of examination leakage.

Police dragnet

"The principal laid a trap by calling them to the school compound after which they were locked inside with their car. He called the police to come and arrest them. After realising they had been rounded up, two of them escaped by jumping over the fence," he said.

The escapees who were identified as Vincent Nyasani and Mustfa Junior further escaped the police dragnet, which was laid at strategic areas in the county.

Addressing the Press in his office, Mwandoe said said copies of History, Biology ,Mathematics, Business Studies, Fasihi, Kiswahili and Christian Religious Education papers were recovered from the suspects. They also recovered a lap top, which also contained examination materials.

Ekerenyo Education Officer Leo Juma later confirmed that the Biology paper, which was done yesterday morning, was similar to that which the suspects had.

Mr Juma thanked the principal for being a whistleblower and challenged other people to report anybody who was selling any examination material.

The discovery ripped open the compromised integrity of the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) which had fallen victim of criticism in the past over examination leakage.

Create mentality

Last year, Nyamira County got a clean bill of health against cheating in national examinations after it registered 100 per cent positive results in both the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and KCSE in the 2014 examinations.

Last month, educationist Kithinji Kiragu warned parents and teachers against assisting children to cheat in national examinations in the misinformed belief that good performance automatically translates to a successful life. Mr Kiragu said doing so creates a mentality in children that it is necessary to cheat in every aspect of life to achieve certain milestones such as getting a job or promotion.