How KCSE exam cheats were busted
A centre manager collects KCSE examination papers.
Four teachers from Gekonge High School are in custody and will be arraigned in court to answer to charges of involvement in malpractices in the ongoing Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations.
According to a senior officer from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the teachers include the principal of the school Morris Oyugi. They were allegedly arrested while in the process photocopying examination papers with the intention of illegally circulating them
According to the officer, the intricate scheme involves both teaching and non-teaching staff in the school, centre managers, invigilators, supervisors and security personnel. Teachers who were not permitted to be within the school compound during the examination period swapped places with the bursars and secretary who are allowed to remain at school while other staff are released.
Once the examination papers were received from the distribution centre and opened, the teachers took the extra copies and went to photocopy them at the neighbouring primary school while the examination is going on. The subject teachers work out the answers on the copy which is then reproduced for the number of students in the school and sneaked into the examination room.
Yesterday, candidates sat Chemistry Paper II and English Paper III. Today, they will sit Kiswahili Paper II (lugha) in the morning and Paper I (insha) in the afternoon.
One teacher in custody (Christine Kemunto) is employed by the board of management but lied that she is the secretary but the police officers established she teachers Christian Religious Education at the school.
The detectives also established that the biology and chemistry teacher, Wilson Maina, was in constant communication with the principal during the chemistry paper exam, making them suspect it had something to do with the exam. The mathematics teacher, Eric Moseti who was in the school during the operation escaped by jumping over the fence and running away.
The DCI officer told Nation that detectives have identified other centres in Nyamira, Kisii, Migori and Kisumu from where examination materials are electronically sent. According to detectives, the materials are mostly circulated on the Telegram platform.
Education cabinet secretary Ezekiel Machogu told Nation that the papers have unique security features which the officers use to identify their source.
The Nation has established over 70 people have been arrested countrywide so far for various offences since the first week when the KCSE advance instructions to prepare for science practicals were released to schools. They also include those arrested during the KCPE examinations last week.
