The Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) has put in place unprecedented measures to curb exam malpractices ahead of the KCSE exam.

For instance, exam papers will bear the details of individual candidates. The papers will also be customised for each candidate, with their name, index number and school pre-printed.

This is a stark departure from the past when candidates were required to write their details on the papers, a loophole exploited over the years to abet examinations malpractices such as impersonation.

Knec has also warned that candidates who engage in cheating will be held personally responsible for the offences and will not be used to punish an entire school or examination centre. Over the years, candidates at examination centres or schools with irregularities had their results cancelled or withheld.

Knec has added 41 containers at exam collection centres to enhance double collection capacity and stem early exposure, said CEO David Njengere.

Knec, he explained, will pack examination papers in separate cartons for morning and afternoon sessions, with the afternoon papers remaining sealed during the initial collection. The practice of collecting papers twice daily, introduced in 2023, aims to prevent any premature access to the exams.

Another significant change in exam administration is stricter control of mobile phones.

Everyone involved in administering exams – including supervisors, invigilators, and centre managers – will be required to secure their phones in lockable desks monitored by security officers.

This step aims to reduce the potential for misconduct during exams. “No phones will be allowed during the opening of the exam papers or while the exams are in progress. Phones will be secured in lockable desks under the supervision of a security officer, with the centre manager holding the key.”

To further strengthen exam integrity, the Teachers Service Commission has introduced a rotation system for KCSE supervisors.

Supervisors will not be deployed to examination centres where they have personal or professional ties, said TSC Director of Staffing Antonina Lentoijoni, emphasising the importance of avoiding conflicts of interest. “They will be required to declare any affiliations with the examination centres where they will be assigned.”

Meanwhile, Science practicals in the forthcoming KCSE exams may be jeopardised if the government fails to release money to buy needed materials, secondary school heads have warned.

Delayed disbursement

With only one week left before the exams begin, school principals, through Kenya Secondary School Heads Association chairman Willie Kuria, said the government had not released Sh24 billion in capitation and this was affecting school operations.

Most secondary schools, he added, had run out of money and could not buy the materials required for the exams.

“The delayed disbursement of capitation might greatly affect the administering of the exams, because there are no funds to buy the required chemicals and equipment,” Kuria said. “The money sent to schools for each student is Sh15,000, leaving a deficit of Sh6,000 meant for tuition and operations.”

KCSE exams start on October 22 and conclude on November 22, while the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment will begin on October 28 and end on November 20.

Some 965,501 candidates were registered for KCSE, up from 903,264 who sat the tests in 2023, a 6.89 per cent increase.

Kuria urged the government to release the money now so as to avoid hitches in administering the national exams.

Most day schools also lack labs and rely on neighbouring schools that have the facilities, Kuria said during a stakeholders meeting in Murang’a town. Tuition fees paid by day-school students is not enough to cover to buy lab equipment.

Meanwhile, Kuria hinted that schools might close earlier than expected because of lack of funds to run them.

“The government should release a portion of the money to enable us to push to the end of the term or we will be forced to close before the stipulated date,” he said.

Students in some schools are being ferried to neighbouring schools with labs for practicals in science subjects, said Samuel Mwangi, the principal of Gikuu Secondary School in Kiharu sub-county.

Sometimes, he added, teachers must skip the practical part of the affected subjects during lessons and this compromises the quality of education and ultimately the students performance in exams.

“We don’t have funds which we can use to set up a laboratory and this has been affecting the learning of the science subjects which require practicals,” said Mwangi.

“Lack of such facilities has also affected the students’ performance in the sciences compared with other subjects.”