Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has revealed that 621 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates were involved in exam malpractice this year, representing 0.064 percent of the 965,501 candidates who sat for the exams in 2024.
The incidents were reported in 198 of the 10,754 examination centers, accounting for 1.841 percent of all centers.
“Investigations are ongoing, and we remain committed to upholding the sanctity of our examinations,” said Ogamba.
The reported cases of malpractice involved written notes, mobile phones, collusion, sharing images of exam papers on social media, and impersonation.
The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) invited 32,800 examiners this year, up from 29,876 in 2023, to oversee the process. Meanwhile, marking for the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) has already been completed.
Over 1.3 million candidates sat for KPSEA exams in 32,573 centers nationwide. Despite challenges such as heavy rainfall and insecurity in some areas, no candidate was left behind. “This includes 28 brave candidates who took their exams from hospital settings,” Ogamba noted.
The government disbursed Sh65.2 billion for free day secondary education this year, with junior schools receiving Sh35.3 billion and primary schools Sh9.38 billion in capitation grants.
Additionally, Sh18 billion has been allocated for Grade 9 infrastructure development, and construction of 1,800 classrooms nationwide has already begun in preparation for the next academic year.
To support the rollout of junior secondary education, the CS confirmed that over 46,000 intern teachers have been absorbed into permanent roles, while 20,000 more are being recruited. Furthermore, 60,000 primary school teachers have been retooled to teach junior secondary classes.
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