- The KCSE candidates will have their rehearsal day on October 18, 2024, as provided in the timetable for their examination.
- The 2022 KCSE was rocked by cheating allegations with a section of education officials suspended for abetting the vice.
Image: FILE
Secondary school principals have proposed a raft of measures to combat cheating in the forthcoming Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exam.
The KCSE candidates will have their rehearsal day on October 18, 2024, as provided in the timetable for their examination.
The oral, practical and foreign papers are then scheduled to be done from October 22, 2024, to November 1, 2024.
School heads, who are usually used as centre managers during the administration of the KCSE test, want the state to jam mobile communication signals and invigilators shuffled as part of the measures.
Through the Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (Kessha), the principals said the state must scale up surveillance and intensify security operations to curb cheating.
The association argues that while the use of mobile phones has been banned in examination centres and rooms during exam times, there has been some collusion from rogue officers and teachers to abet the crime.
“Rotation of invigilators will also reduce familiarity and potential collusion. Install CCT cameras to monitor examination halls,’’ the principals said in their report.
The principals argue that the state must deploy screening gadgets to examination centres to prevent both candidates and unauthorised personnel from accessing the areas with mobile phones.
Currently, candidates are frisked physically by invigilators before entering examination rooms with no special gadgets to detect hidden mobile phones and other unauthorised materials.
During the frisking exercises, some candidates have been found with outlawed materials including mobile phones and written notes.
The principals have further called for far-reaching restructuring of the Kenya National Examinations Council to give more autonomy and independence to seal loopholes being exploited by crooks to influence national tests.
“Independence ensures unbiased examination processes and minimises external influence,” said the principals through their organisation, Kessha.
At the same time, the principals have called for strict adherence to the law banning the ranking of candidates and schools saying the same has resulted in pressure and manipulation of results.
The government banned the ranking of schools and candidates as part of its measures to curb cheating in national examinations which authorities said was being influenced by undue pressures.
In another proposal to curb cheating and enhance the credibility of national tests, the principals have backed a proposal by the Teachers Service Commission to have only secondary school teachers invigilate KCSE.
The exams are manned largely by primary school teachers who are the majority among invigilators overseeing the KCSE test.
“Secondary school teachers have a better understanding of the high school students they are managing. Secondary school teachers could be more assertive and effectively control candidates because of their regular interaction with them," Kessha chairperson Willy Kuria said.
Kuria, who is also the Murang’a High School Principal, said competition among schools might make secondary school teachers more committed to preventing cheating.
At the same time, the principals faulted a policy by TSC that promotes school administrators based on performance saying that was fuelling cheating as principals seek better scores to avoid demotions.
“There should be a change of promotion criteria to ensure a focus on holistic student development. There should be an end to political interference; shield exams from political agenda," Kessha said.
“There should be a continuous assessment and a shift of focus from final examinations alone. Promote teachers' integrity by instilling honesty and ethical behaviour.’’
The principals want teachers nabbed while abetting cheating, arrested, charged and fired as a deterrent measure to greedy teachers seeking shortcuts for higher grades.
They also demanded enhanced financial allocation to schools.
“The needs-based funding allocates resources based on school needs, not just enrolment numbers. Ensure adequate funding for candidates' preparation," Kessha said.
The 2022 KCSE was rocked by cheating allegations with a section of education officials suspended for abetting the vice.
MPs were forced to probe the credibility of the exam after some schools recorded a sudden rise in performance, defying known academic measurement tools.
A report by the Education committee revealed that among the exam malpractices that were used aimed at helping the candidates cheat was the use of mobile phones.
"Some centres reported candidates to have attempted to sneak mobile phones in the examination centres during examination sessions," the report read in part.