The mystery surrounding the recovery of Shs 30,000 from the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) center manager in Garissa yesterday, raising fears of a conspiracy to compromise the examination.
The center manager was caught carrying huge amounts of money, which he could not account for as the Form Four candidates prepared to sit for their papers, Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha asked all officials involved in the exercise and the full details of the candidates. A thorough search was ordered.
Professor Magoha, who is overseeing the exercise in Murang’a County, immediately ordered police officers to arrest those found with ‘unreasonable amounts of money’.
“Carrying huge amount of money to the examination centers may mean that one wants to compromise with the administration of the examination. We were able to track down a few students who had unnecessarily large amounts of money in their pockets best known to them,” said Magoha.
He added that there is a possibility that the money could be used to compromise the invigilators to help them rig the exams.
“If you’re going to supervise the exam, there’s no reason you should have Shs 30,000 in cash, unless you have other messy business,” Magoha said. The CS directed to conduct strict screening of the students taking the examination to close all possible examination malpractice loopholes.
The principal, however, has denied the claims that the money was given to bribe the invigilator to allow him to take the exam earlier.
“I have instructed the supervisors to thoroughly but gently search all students under the supervision of security agents and if money is found with them, it should be kept in the office till the exercise is completed. And the student is not going home,” he said.
“Yesterday as you know, we confiscated some phones which were being used to communicate with outsiders and it is very easy to compromise the parties involved,” he said.
Despite the precedents, Magoha said the quality of the KCSE exam has not been compromised. He said that the government is leaving no stone unturned to maintain the integrity of the examination till the end.
The CS said that the government will take additional security measures in all examination centers to minimize the space for rigging in the examination.
CS said they are looking for centers that request large print papers for their students that some don’t actually need them.
“It may be a plan by the center managers to have extra papers to leak the exam, but we will catch up with you. If there is anyone who has taken money for taking the exam then they should give it back as there will be no scope of leakage in it.
He called upon the examination center managers to maintain professionalism as they fulfill their mandate. “The government is committed to ensuring a credible test. Any unruly behavior on the part of the exam managers will be dealt with in full force of law.
