CHEATING CRAZE
National examination results were released some days ago in Kenya. These were exams that were marred with stifled news of cheating, news that was splashed all over the news across all platforms and stifled because government chose to hide its head in the sand and block its ears with the heaviest of materials in order not to get the information.
It was that examination whose results were released. It confirmed our worst fears: the exam was leaked, going by the number of quality grades we saw. It was too good to be genuine. The last time very many people scored straight A’s was before 2016, and people in Kenya know what was happening before 2016.
There are four most common forms of cheating: leakage, mischief in schools, naughtiness of learners and impersonation.
Leakage of exams is very similar to that of water: both – the examination contents and water – get out of the storage container without the granting of permission for them to do so. And, for the sake of exams, exams get out before the time to do so. Most of this leaking (if not all of it) happens at the ranks of the examinations council – KNEC.
Schools can be mischievous. On any day of the exams, officials pick all the papers for the day from the safe container at the respective sub-county offices at an appointed time. These are usually three papers for the day. Once they get to school, they allow the administrators to open the papers, especially those to be done later during the day, before that appointed time. Contents are then released to learners who do what any learner would do.
We have students who can be naughty. These carry material containing information that is likely to be in the exam papers into the exam room. Impersonation, on the other hand, is just that: somebody pretending they are somebody else, and sit the exam for them.
There are four main reasons why cheating happens. The first one is population in schools. In Kenya, the bigger be population of students in school the better. Government pays a certain amount of money for each student yearly. A school with four thousand learners can’t compare with one that has four hundred. The only way to get those numbers is sterling performance in national exams, and the only way to get impressive results is cheating.
Secondly, cheating occurs because of scramble for few places in prestigious courses. Placement in Kenyan universities, done by and through KUCCPS, is based on the student’s ability to fool examiners that they know whatever they’ve been asked rather than ability, interest and suitability to pursue a given course. By the way, did you know that there are some areas of study which pay more than others? It is for these that almost everybody wants to study.
Thirdly, (and this touches on teachers) some individuals aid the learners to cheat because these people want to be promoted in their places of work. There are many things considered when promoting a teacher. These include years of service, additional qualifications – over and above those possessed at the time of entry into the service, engagement in co-curricular activities and relevant commendation reports from the immediate supervisor. The two ‘silent’ requirements are money – nothing comes free – and performance of learners. Hence, cheating.
Money is the fourth reason why people engage in malpractices in exams. I tend to believe that exams should be one of the most lucrative business ventures in Kenya. It is hot cake.
Did I mention that students and KNEC officials who engage in, and abet cheating, are never punished? I thought you should know.
To remedy this and restore the integrity of exams, the loopholes for cheating should be sealed. To begin with, make sure that there are no leakages from the examinations council. Secondly, it is in order to punish offenders and thirdly, make schools see the gravity of the offense by say deregistering institutions that engage in the malpractice. Failure to do so, our examinations will remain what they currently are: a farce.
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