Kenya: KCSE Papers On Sale Before Exams

Nation Team
Nairobi

Some Form Four candidates have been getting copies of the ongoing national examinations several hours before the tests begin, investigations have revealed.

The Nation was able to obtain questions of a number of Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exam papers after a week-long investigation.

A sample of the leaked exam questions and the actual paper.

Yesterday, the Nation got copies of history Paper Two in the wee hours of the morning. Students throughout the country sat for the paper in the afternoon.

Early on Tuesday morning, the Nation also obtained a chemistry paper that was to done from 9am. But the Government once again denied that there was a massive leak of KCSE examinations.

In a statement read in Parliament yesterday, Education assistant minister Kilemi Mwiria said no evidence had been adduced to show that some candidates had access to the papers before the exams. But he contradicted himself when he admitted that some papers could have been opened a few hours before examination time, adding that could not help the candidates much in answering the questions.

He described such incidents as “localised” to some Mombasa schools, saying this would not amount to “mass leakage”.

Investigations by the Nation revealed that the “agents” sell the papers from 3am. Papers are dropped at some points where they are collected by the clients.

“Papers are given according to demand. We cannot photocopy more than what we can sell because this is a risky business,” said a dealer, who could not give his details.

He added that they only dealt with people they knew, because “in this business you cannot tell a genuine customer from spies.”

After getting the papers, the candidates, and even with the assistance of their teachers, send the message to other candidates through text messages via mobile phones.

Obtain questions

For example, the Nation was yesterday able to obtain four questions of yesterday’s history question paper through text messages.

In Parliament, Dr Mwiria said the Ministry of Education had received reports that some supervisors had opened the papers to some students at 6am in the morning, a few hours before the examination started.

He asked the public not to create anxiety among the candidates by blowing the issue out of proportion, adding, the ministry and the Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) had ensured that the integrity of the was upheld.

“So far there is no evidence to show that the (examination) papers were compromised.

The reports from Mombasa are only continuing to create fear among our children in school. The ministry has nothing to hide as far as the allegations of examination leakage are concerned,” he said.

He added: “We consider access to papers to be a leakage when there is enough time to the examination time. But a few hours to the examination only serves to confuse the students such as it was in this case when some unscrupulous supervisors may have opened the papers to some students at 6am on the examination day.”

The assistant minister said police and ministry officers had launched investigations into the claims with a view to zeroing in on the people behind the move.

According to our investigations, it appeared that the masterminds of the leakage were well-connected people, who had avoided police investigators so far.

Although Mombasa DCIO Mr Charles Kamau has been questioning several people regarding the leak, it had become obvious that he was dealing with “victims of circumstances.”

“Most students are from rich families and can afford to buy the papers at any price,” said the dealer. When contacted, Knec secretary Paul Wasanga echoed Dr Mwiria’s statement, saying it appeared that some unscrupulous supervisors and people manning the rooms where examinations are kept in Mombasa could be involved in the scandal.

He said reports that were emerging indicated that the situation was “localised to the Coast”.

Under the localised situation, it is thought, a supervisor and the person in charge of the room where papers are kept, could collude to open the polythene papers in which question scripts are kept and take away a question paper, which is then photocopied. The original is later returned to the other pool and the bag resealed.
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The photocopied paper is then taken to targeted candidates very early in the morning before the papers begin, usually at 9am.

“This kind of thing is targeted at only some candidates and that is why we are not hearing many people complaining. But we know police will catch up with them… such papers do not end up benefiting any candidate as they come in too late.”

Mr Wasanga allayed fears that all candidates at the Coast were benefiting from these untoward practice, saying such papers had not been received at any one entire centre.