The Principal Secretary for Basic Education, Dr. Belio Kipsang has challenged educators to uphold the integrity of this year’s National examinations amidst growing concerns about cheating and malpractices.
Speaking at a meeting with field education officials and National Government Administration officers in the Coast Region, Dr. Kipsang emphasized the need for educators to rebuild trust in the education system.
Dr. Kipsang urged teachers to handle examination scripts with the utmost honesty and professionalism.
“We must deal with the trust deficits society has developed in the teaching profession in the handling of national examinations,” Dr. Kipsang noted.
He emphasized that educators should be able to administer examinations, much like doctors attending to patients, without the need for security officials overseeing the process.
“As officers deployed to oversee the administration of national examinations, we must therefore ensure that we guard the conduct of the examinations against all sorts of malpractices so as to enhance credibility, validity and reliability of the examinations,” he said.
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Record number for registered candidates
The Ministry of Education is grappling with a spike in the number of candidates registered for national exams. A record 3.5 million candidates are set to take part in various examinations.
As revealed, just under a million candidates registered for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), 1.4 million for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), and a further 1.2 million candidates registered for the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA).
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Kipsang on Remedial Teaching
In addition, the PS expressed his dismay at some school heads imposing illegal levies on parents to pay teachers who conduct remedial teaching, declaring such practices as illegal.
Dr. Kipsang questioned the need for extra hours in the name of remedial teaching, asserting that the prescribed teaching hours by the Ministry of Education should be sufficient.
The burden of extra levies associated with remedial teaching was noted as a concern, with Dr. Kipsang emphasizing that such practices had given education a bad name.
“We cannot explain why we need extra hours in the name of remedial teaching. Extra levies had made us acquire a bad name under the name of remedial teaching,” Dr Kipsang noted.
At the same time, Dr. Kipsang expressed concern over the resurgence of student indiscipline in schools.
While the government is committed to maintaining discipline, Dr. Kipsang urged school management to engage with students more comprehensively to prevent factors that could lead to unrest and property damage.
The government through the Ministry of Education further reaffirmed its commitment to the safety and security of candidates from regions prone to banditry and terror attacks.
“All areas that may be affected by flooding are being mapped and we are mobilizing all government equipment including our helicopters from the Kenya Forest Service, Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Police Service and the military. We are taking enough measures to ensure the rains do not disrupt exams,” said Kipsang.
