Shimo la Tewa candidates before the start of the 2021 KCSE exams at the school in Mombasa County. [Kelvin Karani, Standard]
The ongoing national examinations mark a huge milestone for the thousands of learners sitting them.
They will determine a huge trajectory in their lives journey. As such, the exercise calls for support from all Kenyans of goodwill. This is because the country’s future progress and stability will be shaped by the outcomes of the crucial tests.
The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination results will be out in the next few days, while the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) tests are currently ongoing. Meant to gauge learners’ grasp of what they have spent years studying in school, the tests also determine the transition to the next level of education. It is an epochal undertaking for every Kenyan.
This informs the anxiety that normally grips the candidates, their parents, teachers and the society at large. The temptation to gain undue advantage in these tests overcomes some people who try to cheat. Five years ago, escalating cases of cheating threatened the quality of the examinations, prompting drastic measures to curb the same.
With tight vigilance, increased supervision and goodwill from all stakeholders, cheating was brought to a minimum. Cases were far in between and legitimacy was restored. The Ministry of Education deserves accolades for bringing back sanity into the exam system.
Today, we even have the Optical Mark Recognition machine, which scores the papers electronically. Previously, all marking and tallying of results was done manually and could take even two weeks to conclude. This is a huge step in the right direction.
However, there are still challenges in the management of exams, which Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha and his team must keep confronting. For instance, three teachers and a security officer were arrested in Makueni County over alleged exam irregularity. Investigators established that a leaked Kiswahili paper originated from the school.
What is happening is that with the increased use of mobile phones, some unscrupulous officers open the exam papers and take screenshots then share with conniving cartels in between the tests or just before starting time. But Prof Magoha has assured the candidates and Kenyans that the exams have not leaked.
He said the reported malpractices so far, have happened after the papers have started. He called the cases early exposure and warned that those sharing the screenshots will be traced and punished heavily according to the law.
That said, cheating in an examination or aiding in the vice, is ideally shooting oneself in the foot. If one passes an examination and is admitted into medicine or aeronautical engineering, you expose yourself and millions of people to quack doctors or faulty aircraft. It is better to allow everyone a level playing field and get the best brains for every profession.
