Kabarak Secondary School Acting Principal David Sugut advises KCSE candidates ahead of the exams today. [Photo: Boniface Thuku/Standard]

By James Mbaka

Kenya: It is all systems go as the Kenya Certificate for Secondary Education (KCSE) exams begin this morning.

The exams will be done under stringent rules set by the Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) to curb cheating.

Some 449,246 candidates will sit this year’s KCSE exams compared to the 436,349 who sat the same examination last year. The increase of 12,897 candidates has been attributed to the high transition rate from primary to secondary schools.

Under the new examination rules tailored to deal with cases of examination irregularities, the sitting arrangement for candidates has been reviewed to avoid sharing or exchange of notes and writing materials.

Candidates sitting the exams will also have to contend with a tight schedule as breaks between morning and afternoon papers have been reduced. This means that candidates will only be allowed a brief lunch break in order to minimise contact from within and outside before sitting the afternoon papers.

Candidates are also barred from leaving the examination room before the end of each paper session, unless on authority of the supervisor.

The government last year passed the Knec Act that provides stiffer penalties for examination offences.

Anyone found leaking examination papers or committing other examination malpractices will be liable, upon conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five-years or a fine not exceeding Sh1 million or both.

Also, anyone caught impersonating a candidate risks serving a jail term not exceeding two-years, or a fine not exceeding Sh2 million, or both. They will also be prohibited from taking an examination conducted by or on behalf of Knec for a period not exceeding three-years.

The examination body also reduced the storage period of examination papers in the police armouries from two-weeks prior to exams to just two-days.

Exams to be done today were delivered to police armouries across the country at the weekend.

Previous examination leakages have been blamed on unscrupulous police officers that colluded with education officials to leak examinations.

Knec Secretary Paul Wasanga said tough measures have been put in place to ensure that the exams go on without a hitch.