Four examination officers from Nyandarua County have been taken to police custody after they were caught attempting to engage in an examination malpractice in the ongoing Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE). The four officers were caught at the Hezta group of Schools. They were found passing answers to pupils at the center. The answers were written on tissue paper.
The four included the center manager, one supervisor and two invigilators who were manning the exams at the institutions.
It is reported that the invigilator was caught taking photographs of the examination papers and electronically sending to teachers who were reportedly hiding around the school compound. The teachers wrote the answers on pieces of tissue paper before sending them back to the supervisor and invigilators.
The police manning the institution suspected a malpractice was happening and alerted the County security team comprising of the Police Commander Gideon Ngumi and County Commission Boaz Cherutich. Together, they ambushed four people discussing the Science paper in a secluded room. The officers would later realize that the four were actually teachers from the school.
The police alerted According to the guidelines of the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) teachers are not allowed within the examination centers of where they teach. The presence of these teachers was a violation of this policy.
The police officers confiscated tissue papers contained the answers and erasing rubbers from the suspects. The suspects were taken to waiting police vehicles in the full glare of cameras.
Speaking of the raid, Mr Cherutich explained: “Our security officers manning the examination in the school raised alarm on possible exam cheating. We acted swiftly on the matter and upon arriving and doing our investigations we were able to recover papers containing exam answers. We have also confiscated phones which will aid in the investigations,” said Mr Cherutich.
Mr. Cherutich assured that the candidates sitting their examinations at the Hezta Group of Schools would go on with their examination. However, a new set of invigilators would be deployed to ensure that cheating does not take place. The exam center has 29 candidates. He urged security agents to be more watchful so that a similar incident does not occur at another institution. He added that extra officers would be deployed at Hezta to investigate any previous cheating cases.
The matter was reported to the Teacher Service Commission for further disciplinary action on the involved teachers.