A high school principal in Narok County has been suspended pending investigations after being suspected of exam malpractice during the ongoing Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams.
Although not naming the principal or the school, Narok County Director of Education Apollo Apuko confirmed the suspension, saying some things were not going well at the school. The deputy principal of the school will take over and oversee the administration of the school throughout the exam period.
“He was not working in accordance with the regulations that were set, and therefore the Deputy Principal will take over and run the examinations until they end,” Apuko said.
On the other hand, security agencies in Kajiado County have launched a probe against a top private boarding school in Isinya over suspected exam irregularities.
The school topped the 2024 KCSE national exams but has found itself in the crosshairs of authorities as the written exams kicked off on Monday. Authorities have not made clear the nature of suspected malpractice at the institution.
According to Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, who confirmed that there have been isolated incidents of examination malpractices, stiff disciplinary action will be taken against individuals who have been nabbed.
The CS assured that the ministry will continue to deploy more measures to curb exam irregularities to ensure integrity and transparency in the ongoing exams.
“There have been isolated attempts at examination malpractices. Individuals who were implicated have been arrested, and the incidents are under investigation to inform further disciplinary and criminal action,” Ogamba stated.
“The Government continues to take stringent measures to avert malpractices and ensure the integrity of the examination process. Immediate action will be taken against any individuals found to violate the applicable rules and regulations,” he added.
According to the Director of Public Prosecutions, Renson Ingonga, his department will be vigilant in ensuring that it prosecutes any individual, regardless of their position, if found facilitating exam malpractices.
“We will not encourage any malpractice, we will not encourage it because I assure you we will prosecute anyone involved in malpractice from the lowest to the highest,” Ingonga said.
Acknowledging the ongoing heavy rains across the country, the Education CS assured that the government has deployed helicopters to deliver exam papers to schools in affected areas, including Elgeyo Marakwet, which has witnessed two landslides in the past three days.
“The ongoing rains in some parts of the country have made roads impassable. The disastrous landslide in Elgeyo Marakwet County and cases of swollen rivers in other parts have occasioned further challenges,” Ogamba said.
“We have deployed helicopters to deliver examination materials to accessible centralised locations to ensure that examinations proceed as scheduled,” he added.
