Confusion has ensued in Kimumu, Uasin Gishu County, after 23 Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) students were reportedly sitting for fake examinations in a school not registered by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC).
Police descended on the academy in the wee hours of Wednesday after receiving a tip-off from a concerned parent who revealed to them the suspicious activity regarding the exams in the school.
“Yesterday, we received a tip-off from a parent who was concerned about the nature of exams being issued by the school. The parent disclosed that they had observed that the school was doing a different exam as compared to other schools and the students were always late to begin exams. Today, we decided to investigate and discovered that the school was in fact holding fake examinations,” Deputy County Commissioner Duncan Okwatch told the media.
Upon arrival, the police realised that the students were sitting for fake examinations in the unregistered school. Furthermore, the children, who were under the guise that they had been registered, found out that they had not been registered to sit for the national examinations.
“When we conducted investigations, we discovered that the school was not registered and the pupils were not registered as well.”
The Deputy County Commissioner laid blame on the headteacher and owner of the school for scamming parents and students by issuing fake examinations portraying them as the original KNEC exams.
“The headteacher and the owner of the school were administering fake examinations under the guise that they were original exams from the Kenya National Examinations Council,” he stated.
Police revealed that the school was printing its own exams and photocopying them before issuing them to the students. “The students were being given exams manufactured by the school," the police stated.
Confirming the arrest of the two, Okwatch revealed that the police will take the arrested persons into custody and conduct investigations to determine the cause and motive behind issuing the fake examinations. The debacle at the Kimumu school has affected 23 students.
“23 students have been affected by this matter. We have arrested the two individuals who are now the prime suspects. We will take them into custody and conduct investigations to determine the root cause of this matter.” stated Okwatch.
In regards to the affected students, Okwatch noted that the Education Ministry and KNEC will look into the matter in order to come up with a solution as the students face uncertainty over their education.
“We have invited the Ministry of Education and examination body KNEC to look into the fate of the students who were unfortunately not doing the original exams and give us a way forward,” he said.
The KPSEA exams began on Monday, October 28, and are set to end today (Wednesday, October 30, 2024).
