Education CS George Magoha has put on notice teachers who are plotting to help Form Four candidates cheat in the KCSE exams.
Magoha said the Ministry of Education is aware that some schools have plans that some teachers are planning to write exams that begin on Friday on behalf of the candidates.
He noted that they are closely monitoring such centres and warned that teachers found engaging in exam malpractice will be arrested and charged.
“We will not allow anybody to play around with the future of our children,” Magoha said on Wednesday at Manyatta Primary School in Kisumu county.
He was accompanied by County Education Director Isaac Atebe and County TSC director Ibrahim Rugut to monitor KCPE exams at the school.
He said that the deployment of two police officers in every exam centre is not negotiable and extra police officers will only be deployed in centres with more than 200 candidates.
Magoha directed exam centre managers to ensure that the collect the right exam papers with the right codes warning that no excuse will be tolerated.
“If you collect exams and later complain of anomalies such as shortage of said papers or wrong content then you will be answerable,” he said.
The CS noted that the government has done everything possible to ensure there is no cheating in exams across the country.
On marking exams, Magoha said they will not regulate marking centres to avert the culture of cheating.
This follows calls by the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) to decentralise marking centres.
He said the government will not go back to regional marking centres despite calls from other education stakeholders.
“Marking of exams will be done as it has been. We are fully prepared. There are plans in place in line with the Covid -19 protocols to ensure examiners are safe,” Magoha said.
He added, “Those who want regional marking centres to be revived should wait for another government.”
Kuppet chairman Akelo Misori raised concern that the marking centres were likely to be congested during the marking period making them prone to contracting coronavirus now in its third wave.
He had also said that the schools had not received capitation funds making it difficult to run the schools, especially with the ongoing examinations.
Magoha, however, announced that the government has released Sh7.5 billion to secondary schools which have reflected in most schools.
“The 50 per cent was released on Tuesday and by the end of April the remaining amount will have been released,” he said.
