The Ministry of Education has refuted claims of leakage of examinations in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination (KCSE) examinations that are going on.
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.