Education Cabinet Secretary, George Magoha, has cautioned learners against a new form of exams cheating involving officials from the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC).
Speaking during inspection of Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) classes on Friday, February 25, Magoha stated that some examination officials were buying candidates' data promising schools good results.
He stated that his Ministry had noticed a growing trend in the new form of cheating further cautioning students and parents against being part of it.
"We want to warn principals, especially those who want to give certain people index numbers of their children in the hope of getting fake examination results. They should stop wasting their time.
"If you have a lot of money to waste, take it to the church so that it can be used there. We are watching the people who are concerned. We already know them including their contacts in KNEC," warned the tough speaking CS.
He explained that the most affected individuals in the new scheme are students who are not ready to write their papers, saying that most of them stop studying since they have been promised good grades.
"We are going to take very firm action without any mercy because we are dealing with two million learners," he stated.
Magoha's statement comes days after the Ministry of Education launched safety measures for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations which are expected to begin early March.
At the event, Magoha - who was accompanied by his interior counterpart, Fred Matiang'i - took pride in the reforms that had been undertaken to restore the credibility of the national examinations.
Earlier on, Magoha had also assured candidates that the marking and grading of results will factor in the disruptions that have been experienced in the course of the academic year. Specifically, he stated that the Ministry of Education would consider students who were studying in areas facing insecurity.
However, the admission of the examinations remains in limbo as secondary school teachers issued a strike notice to the government during the week. Magoha, however, stated that they would continue discussions with the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) to avert the strike.
"In terms of exams, I think we are ready to go and I would like to thank our teachers. Also, I would publicly request KUPPET to withdraw their strike notice," Magoha requested.
