Education Permanent Secretary Belio Kipsang has blamed parents and examiners for the heightened exam malpractices that are being witnessed as the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams continue.
Speaking in Nyeri on Thursday where he was opening a national examinations container, Kipsang blamed parents for allowing students to go to school with mobile phones which are prohibited in exam rooms.
"The biggest problem in our examinations are we adults, the parents in most cases, because when we hear people saying there's mobilisation of resources to compromise our staff the people who are mobilizing the resources are not our staff, it is we as parents," the PS said.
The PS further questioned why parents were sponsoring the malpractices yet they took the children to school for four years.
"And why are we mobilising resources to try to compromise our examinations if we have given an opportunity to our children to be in school for four years?," the PS questioned.
Multiple incidents of examination malpractice have been reported across several counties in the last few days.
A series of exam breaches have been detected at different schools as officials work to protect the integrity of the national exams. As of last week, the ministry had received reports of at least 11 cases of attempted cheating across the country.
Several suspects have also been arrested following cases of exam malpractice across the country. Those involved, primarily adults, have been arrested, with investigations underway to determine the extent of the malpractice.
The concerns from PS Education come even as parents have been falling victim to fraudsters who purport to have exam papers, making parents pay over Ksh10,000 to access the alleged leaked papers.
PS Kipsang also noted that the number of girls sitting for examinations in hospitals due to teen pregnancies has significantly increased, posing a challenge to parents raising girls.
He appealed to teachers and parents to work together to counsel students to minimise the incidents. The KCSE exams are expected to come to an end on November 22.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos on Wednesday assured Kenyans that individuals involved in exam malpractices would face legal action.
"The investigations are ongoing and will reveal the extent of the cartels involved in the malpractice. Anyone involved will face the full force of the law," he said, while overseeing exams in Kiambu County.
