Examination supervisors warned against aiding cheating

Officials overseeing this year's national examination in Trans Mara East Sub-county have been warned against abetting cheating ahead of the exams.

Trans Mara East Sub-county Director of Education Walter Sirengo Wanjala said any centre manager, supervisor, and invigilator found helping students to engage in exam irregularities shall face the full force of the law.

"Let me talk to the school heads because that is where the problem arises from. Don't be tempted in any manner to assist candidates to cheat in the exams," he said.

In an interview with journalists, Wanjala told the officials to execute their roles as outlined in Kenya National Examination Centre guidelines and regulations.

He said it is the responsibility of the principals and those bestowed with the supervision mandate to ensure exams are conducted freely and fairly.

In Trans Mara East a total of 9,736 candidates will sit for the national exams.

5,792 will sit for KPSEA in 100 examination centres, and 3,944 for KCSE.

Wanjala told the principals that they should not be the cause of the examination leaks, warning them of stern actions once found.

Deputy County Commissioner John Chirchir said they will provide enough security to man the examination centres and enhance the safety of the students.

The DCC said the school heads should not compromise the police officers deployed to provide security.

There are cases where teachers corrupt officers to allow candidates to cheat. 

He said there was a need for teachers to keep off from schools if not on duty during the exams to curb examination cheating.

Parents were also told to minimize school visits because they won't be allowed to be in school unless required.

The administrator said that in previous years, there have been cases of students sneaking phones into the examination rooms jeopardising the credibility of the exams.  

A total of 965,501 candidates will sit for KCSE in 10,755 exam centres, while 1,303,913 candidates will participate in the KPSEA across 35,573 centres nationwide.

The administration of these exams will involve a total of 246,151 field officers, including 103,125 for KCSE and 143,026 for KPSEA.

While launching the exam season early this month, KNEC’s CEO David Njengere said all exam officials will be required to surrender their mobile phones at the beginning of each exam session to prevent potential leaks.

This year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam will begin on Tuesday next week, October 22, and run for a month, concluding on November 22.

The Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), which is part of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), will be administered between October 28 and November 1.