252 exam cheats to get their total marks

Education CS Ezekiel Machogu. [File, Standard]

At least 252 candidates who sat for the 2022 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education were caught cheating.

Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu noted that this was an improvement compared to last year's results.

He said the cases of malpractices were curbed in this year's exams.

"The cases of cheating have reduced because we used multi-agency teams from the ministries of Education, Interior, ICT, Teachers Service Commission and National Administration," noted Machogu.

He said the students who were caught cheating in nine examinations centres will score zero in the affected subjects but will be given total marks in other subjects.

"They will also proceed to secondary school in the spirit of 100 per cent transition," assured Machogu.

In 2021 KCPE results some 320 candidates in collusion with invigilators were involved in exam malpractices.

At the time, the Ministry of Education indicated that at least 70 incidents were reported across the country.

Some of the tricks used in cheating include taking pictures of exam questions and leaking them out of the centres or sharing with the candidate's hours before they sit for the exams.

The ministry banned mobile phones in all centres except for the exam managers and security officers.