The Teachers Service Commission has suspended Nyambaria High School Principal Charles Onyari on allegations of exam malpractice in the ongoing Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).
As per multiple reports, the principal was suspended after a recommendation from the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC).
However, exams scheduled for Wednesday went on as planned despite his suspension.
The principal was first thrust to the limelight after the Nyamira-based school outshined other prominent schools to emerge top in the 2022 exam.
In the 2022 exam, Nyambaria scored a mean grade of 10.89 and had 28 students with straight As.
When Nyambaria School scored 383 A-
Additionally, it posted 383 A minus while one student scored a B.
In what was described in some quarters as a stellar performance, every candidate who sat for the 2022 examination at the school scored at least a B.
The 2023 KCSE commenced on Monday, November 6.
In readiness for the usually high stakes exercise, the Ministry of Education assured that it would put in place measures to ensure credibility in the exam.
Among the measures adopted would help to curb pre-exposure of the exam papers which was highlighted as a leading way of cheating in past KCSE exams.
Also Read: 7 Crucial Items Students Need During KCSE Exams
Ministry announces new measures
Among the measures announced by the Ministry included a requirement for principals to collect morning and afternoon papers separately.
In what was a departure from the traditional examination exercise, center heads would first collect morning papers and then collect the other paper later into the day.
This, according to the ministry would help to prevent cases of pre-exposure.
In addition, KNEC announced a set of new regulations barring candidates from carrying gadgets including smart watches, programmable calculators and Bluetooth devices.
Also Read: KNEC Issues KCSE/KCPE Dos and Don’ts Days to Exams
Notably, the 2022 exam process was marred with concerns of irregularities and a trend which some quarters described as abnormal in the way some schools registered sudden improvements.
After months of investigations, members of parliament highlighted gaps in the administration of the 22022 KCSE.
However, the MPs noted that there was no evidence of a significant deviation in the results registered in 2022 compared to previous examinations.
