Nine school principals have been suspended as exam centers managers since the onset of the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination (KCSE).
According to Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu, the nine principals have been suspended in connection with various forms of exam malpractices in their centers.
Machogu, who was speaking during his inspection tours in Busia County, said three of the cases reported bordered on impersonation while two of them were involved in collusion in the centers.
“The only number that we have been able to send home, we said they must step aside are nine center managers, which is principals who were manning the exam centers,” Macahogu said.
“We had three cases of collusion and two cases of impersonation.” In addition to collusion and impersonation, Machogu also reported that several candidates had been caught with non-exam materials in the exam rooms.
Further, the CS revealed that 46 candidates had since been implicated for various malpractices in the exam centers.
However, the Ministry assured that enough measures had been adopted to ensure credibility and transparency in the exercise.
Addressing the press, Machogu noted that the government had contained exam malpractices through introduction of stringent security capabilities in the administration of KCSE exams.
Also Read: KCSE Leakage: How Matiang’i Crushed Exam Cartels & Lessons for Machogu
On his part, Education Principal Secretary Dr Belio Kipsang vouched for the newly adopted measures to help curb cheating in the national exams.
Kipsang, who spoke during an inspection tour at Naivasha Girls High School explained that the current arrangement of collecting exam from the containers had helped to limit chances of pre-exposure in the exercise.
Some of the principals arrested in 2023 KCSE
Less than a week into the 2023 assessment exercise, reports of malpractices clouded the KCSE with several cases hitting headlines.
In Nyamira County, for instance, the Principal of Nyambaria High School was arrested in connection with an irregularity in his center.
Notably, his arrest was of concern to many, especially after having guided his school to a remarkable performance in the 2022 exam. The Nyamira-based school took many by surprise after beating seasoned top performers to emerge as the country’s best school.
Also Read: TSC Suspends Principal of School in Nyamira That Topped 2022 KCSE
At least all candidates in the center scored a B in the exam, registering one of the most decorated results in the exam.
Elsewhere, police arrested four teachers from Gekonge High School on allegations of aiding exam malpractice in the same county.
Among the four teachers was a principal of the school named Morris Oyugi. The four were expected to appear in court to face the various charges in connection with their arrests.
In the run to the commencement of the exam period, he Ministry of Education in conjunction with other agencies including the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) announced a raft of measures to seal anticipated loopholes in the exams.
The measures included a new rule requiring exam center managers to pick daily exam papers at two intervals different from the traditional one where the managers picked two papers at a go.
