Cabinet Secretary for Education Prof George Magoha and Machakos Director of Criminal Investigations (DCIO) Rhoda Kanyi have given contradicting statements over the leaked KCSE Mathematics paper 2 that leaked on Monday.
CS Magoha had termed the leaked KCSE Mathematics paper on WhatsApp as a fake. A principal from Machakos County was the culprit.
Mrs. Kanyi on her part said that the leaked Mathematics paper was real as it was the same paper that the KCSE candidates did the following day.
Betta Mutuku, principal of ABC Kiseveni Secondary School in Machakos County, was nabbed on the 6th of April for posting the KCSE Mathematics paper on her WhatsApp status for her candidates to revise before doing the paper the following day.
Ms. Mutuku denied the allegations saying that she does not know who posted the paper on her WhatsApp status.
Machakos DCIO and Police Officers from the same station entered the school a few hours before the examination started and arrested the principal pending investigation.
Ms. Mutuku is alleged to have posted the paper a day before her candidates sat for the KCSE Mathematics Paper 2. The intention is believed to have been that she wanted her learners to go through the paper overnight before sitting for the real paper on Tuesday.
Following the arrest, Ms. Mutuku’s phone was confiscated to allow for investigations.
CS Magoha said that the paper Ms Mutuku posted was a fake while DCIO Kanyi confirmed on Tuesday that the paper was indeed the exact paper candidates sat for that day.
This has raised concerns on the integrity of the KCSE examination.
In the past week, on Tuesday an invigilator from Migori County was also arrested for over allegations of examination malpractice. The invigilator was alleged to have leaked a KCSE paper before the time scheduled.
CS for Education Prof George Magoha said that the invigilator will be arraigned in court.
“We have arrested an invigilator at a centre in Migori County who was sharing some of the materials exposed before the time scheduled,” said CS Magoha.
The Cabinet Secretary said that the malpractice happened between the period when the examination papers left the examination containers and the time of arrival at the examination centre.
Professor Magoha has confirmed that the Ministry of Education has gone through the leaked paper in Machakos County and seen for themselves that the examination questions were not the same as those in the KCSE Mathematics paper 2.
“Officers in the Ministry of Education have assured me that the Mathematics paper that was circulating on WhatsApp was fake. You do not have to worry about the credibility of the exam,” said CS Magoha while at Moi Girls High School – Eldoret in Uasin Gishu County.
It seems that there could be something amiss concerning the Machakos County incident.
Man arrested for leaking KCSE examination using social media platforms
In another incident, the Cabinet Secretary for Education Prof George Magoha said that it is only fake papers that were being distributed in some parts of the country lying to parents, teachers, and students that they are legitimate.
“We have seen an emergence of fake papers being circulated in some areas of this country, purported to be genuine examination materials,” said CS Magoha.
At the moment of writing this article, one businessman has already been nabbed for the illicit trade in Kericho County. This is according to CS Magoha. Test papers that were suspected to be part of the ongoing KCSE examination are being sold online. This has made Kenyans have fears that there may have been leakages and cheating in the KCSE examinations.
Investigations carried by Nation reveal that examination papers are being distributed and marketed via social media platforms such as Whatsapp and Telegram groups that students, parents, and teachers have access to.
Examination peddlers circulate the leaked tests in the evening targeting desperate candidates and teachers who are looking for tips or leaks of the next day’s examination.
The peddlers then provide the examinations at a cost of Sh. 1000 each.
The sellers then tell the buyers to pay and wait for the papers at 7:30 am. This implies that they could be rogue examiners who manage to open the examination papers before the set time. They then take photos and send them to their clients.
CS Magoha ‘admitted’ yesterday that examination papers have been sold but dismissed the papers as ‘fake’. He proceeded to warn parents, teachers, and candidates against buying and therefore involving themselves in examination malpractice.
“Our examination has not been leaked…it will not be leaked. Only genuine revision can help candidates pass their examinations successfully,” said Prof Magoha.
15 people have been nabbed for engaging in examination irregularities. Some of them have since been arraigned in court. The individuals in custody include a university student, who was arrested in Busia County for aiding in cheating at a private school.
15 mobile phones have also been confiscated from various examination centers. Forensic analysis is being done to discover the people who are behind the examination malpractice.
Out of the fifteen mobile phones, eight (8) were taken from candidates who were in examination rooms. This brought to light the increasing use of technology in examination cheating.
On Tuesday, the CS said that many schools in Migori, Nyamira, and Garissa counties were under probe for accessing examinations before the stipulated time.
“Unprofessional examination officials managed to expose the examinations a little earlier than the scheduled time once the papers leave safely from the examinations container,” said CS Magoha.
Some individuals have also gone to the extent of hiring candidate impersonators. According to the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) guidelines on cheating in examinations, any candidate who commits an examination irregularly in any paper will have their results canceled.
A candidate who engages in malpractice will be awarded a grade “Y” as grade. Those who gain access to examinations ahead of the scheduled time face a potential 10 years or a fine of up to Sh. 2 million.
If evidence of widespread irregularities in any examination center is confirmed, the examination results for the whole center will be canceled.
Fingers have also been pointed to the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) for lifting an entire section from a KCPE prediction paper that was Distinction Education Publishers set and sold to schools.
The CS says that teachers in Migori Country are being probed after reports of attempts to tamper with examination papers.