KNEC dispels exam cheating after fake papers circulation

Dennis Tarus

November 8, 2016 3:52 PM

There had been widespread reports on Monday of people purporting to be selling “genuine” Mathematics paper 1 and Chemistry paper 1 to teachers and students.

The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has dispelled rumours of cheating during the start of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination.

KNEC Chairman Prof George Magoha said that they had carried out a thorough scrutiny and confirmed that the papers doing rounds were not the genuine ones that candidates sat on Monday.

“The fake papers did not have the slightest likeness to what we have set and printed after the original papers were opened before the start of the examinations,” Magoha said.

Imitation-proof

KNEC assured Kenyans that just like with the KCPE examinations, no KCSE papers were leaked, saying that the security features employed were imitation-proof, high level and sophisticated for anyone to copy.

Prof. Magoha warned parents and students buying the fake papers risk facing arrest and subsequent persecution by the government.

At the same time, Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i warned that officials involved in distributing examinations will be punished if they engage in irregularities.

He exuded confidence that unlike in the 2015 examinations, this year’s exercise will be free of irregularities that have dogged the education sector over the years.

Dennis Tarus