Pull all stops to curb examination leakage
By Editorial.Team, March 4, 2022National examinations officially commence this morning with countrywide rehearsals of Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE).
In any society, national exams are sacrosanct. They determine the futures not just of the candidates but also the environment they live in. Purity of examinations goes a long way in ensuring prosperity.
It is for this reason that we ask the government to put in place stringent safety measures to ensure the exams are as safe as possible.
The Ministry of Education has raised a red flag on cartels that are planning to leak the national examinations. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
As a result, the government has said the exams will only be seen once the seal is broken in the examination room, which happens in the full glare of invigilators, students and even security officers.
At the same time, the ministry has warned parents against being lured into buying fake examination papers saying they will not only be wasting their time but also their money.
About four years ago, the government embarked on a journey of cleaning the examination process, which had so many cases of irregularities and its credibility was questioned.
Following sustained and relentless campaigns to fight the inexcusable practice of leaking national examinations, the ministry last year declared that it has eradicated the menace.
Government officials said since 2016, not a single case of a leaked examination paper has been recorded. This was attributed to the use of a robust security-led system of delivering examinations.
According to the ministry, delivering exams directly to containers before dispatching them to various centres has been fool proof. Similarly, the Kenya National Examination Council has reassured that it will continue to reform the assessment system to make it more resilient.
As the exam commences, it is important to observe examination rules and people entrusted with safeguarding the papers should not breach the exams.
Candidates have been well prepared to sit the exams and attempts by some unscrupulous individuals to push them to cheat are not only callous but will also confuse them.
Nothing comes easy and candidates should beware of cartels out to mislead them. They should work on getting their best, which forms a great part of their future.
We urge all candidates to work hard and smart and they will pass their exam and ignore voices out to mislead them. Be on the look out for examination cartels. We wish both Class 8 and Form 4 classes the best in their exams.