This archive report was first published on 7 November 2019.
26 KCSE Candidates Arrested in Nairobi Over Exam Cheating ¶
Police in Nairobi arrested 26 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates on November 6, 2019, for allegedly engaging in exam cheating during the 2019 KCSE examinations.
The candidates were arrested at St. Teresa Boys Primary School in Eastleigh, where 154 private candidates were sitting their KCSE examinations. According to Starehe Sub-county Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss Martin Mbaya, 35 mobile phones were confiscated from the candidates.
Investigations revealed that the candidates were receiving answers in real-time from an unknown source during the Chemistry Paper II exams. Mbaya noted that 26 of the mobile phones had been identified with their owners, and police were carrying out further investigations to establish the owners of the remaining nine phones.
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha warned that the government would not relent in its efforts to have credible examinations. He further stated that those involved in cheating had photocopied the examination materials, answered the questions, and relayed the answers back to the candidates at the examination centre through mobile phones.
Magoha also expressed concern that most of the answers provided by teachers appeared to be wrong, and that the practice of cheating in national exams needed to be re-evaluated.
Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang and Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) acting chief executive officer Mercy Karogo held a crisis meeting at the institution to address the issue.
