The government has tightened measures to curb heightened attempts of cheating in the 2021 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams.

Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has now banned all exam officials from going to exam centres with phones, gadgets he said have been the greatest singular enemy in administration of KCSE.

Magoha said only two phones; one for centre manager and another for a security officer are allowed in a centre, both of which should be kept at the former’s office in case of emergency.

“Keep your phones at home and use them later. Any phone illegally found in school will be confiscated. The phones are being used to confuse our children,” said the CS yesterday in a statement. “I urge all the officers contracted from across government departments to do all they can to ensure we arrest the challenge of early exposure of examination questions to ensure we deliver a credible examination.”

The new move will bar school principals, invigilators and other support staff from going to their workstations with their mobile phones. 

Unauthorised teachers

The CS also directed that all school gates be kept wide open throughout the day’s exam hours to allow ease of monitoring of all processes.

“Supervisors and invigilators must not take any time off from the exam rooms for any other activity while examinations are in progress,” said the CS. “Centre managers must not allow any unauthorised teachers or staff to hang around the precincts of the school compounds during the examination season.”

 He said only teachers handling practical subjects will be allowed in exam centres during the days the subjects are taken.

 This came as Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), David Njengere dismissed leakage claims and dared anyone with the papers beforehand to own up. He insisted there is a stark difference between early exposure and leakage and the two scenarios should not be confused.

 “Claims that the exam has leaked are very serious. I want to dare anyone who claims that the exam has leaked to show us where. Let us not cause unnecessary panic,” said Njengere.

 The CEO says exams leakage would have seen candidates exposed to papers before and prepared for it, a situation that has not and will not happen even with the remaining papers.

The CS has said at least 20 centre managers were arrested in the first week of exams administration who he said were found attempting to facilitate exam malpractices.  He insisted that the government is in control of exams administration and is doing everything possible to enhance provision of equal opportunities for all the candidates across the country.

 “Those who have chosen to risk will have to pay the price. Anybody keen on exposing the exams earlier to the children should stop even thinking about it, because the candidates will not even have room for that,” he said.

 He warned that the government will not spare anyone who will be found culpable in exam cheating, upholding that all students found to have engaged in exam irregularities will have all their marks cancelled.

 Questions have been raised over administration of the exam that has seen more candidates attempting to access questions before time.

 The CS has however maintained that despite the cell phones discovered last week, no paper has leaked and there is no cause for alarm.

 “So far, not a single examination paper has been leaked. All the papers have been delivered to every exam centre with all the unique KNEC security features intact. I repeat: No examination paper has been leaked, none will,” insisted the CS.