The latest KCPE results have been presented as evidence that tougher exam security is beginning to work. The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) says it has opened disciplinary action against 26 teachers accused of irregularities during the October Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams.
TSC chief executive officer Nancy Macharia said the commission backs the Ministry of Education’s push to eliminate cheating in national examinations. She said the teachers would face punishment for undermining those efforts.
When Education CS Amina Mohamed released the results in Mombasa, she said the measures introduced to stop malpractice had already improved performance. According to her, the 2016 results were low, but the trend has since moved upward as teachers and candidates focus more on genuine classroom work.
Mohamed said the 2018 performance was better than the previous two years, with the top two candidates nationally scoring 453 marks. She also said the number of candidates who scored 400 marks and above had risen sharply, which she described as a sign that quality grades were increasing.
More than 50 per cent of the candidates scored 250 marks and above, the CS said. She added that most possible cheating cases were stopped before they could succeed, but four cases of impersonation were still detected during monitoring.
“The results of the candidates involved will be cancelled. However, they will be allowed to sit for the exams next year,” she said.
Mohamed said the ministry had continued tightening its systems to close loopholes that cheating cartels could exploit. In her view, the 2018 KCPE was conducted on one of the most level playing fields ever, and she said exam irregularities had been completely wiped out. Knec boss George Magoha shared that assessment.
She also pointed to ongoing interventions for children with special needs, saying the ministry was implementing deliberate measures to help them excel in learning in line with President Uhuru Kenyatta’s commitment to quality education.
