20 Though Rules Placed By KNEC To Prevent Cheating Ahead Of National Examinations.
The Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) has outlined the rules that must be followed to conduct the national exams scheduled for next month.
The stringent guidelines also outline severe consequences that will apply to both candidates and test administrators who are found guilty.
All chief examiners for the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), Kenya Certificate for Primary Education (KCPE), and Kenya Certificate for Secondary Education met to discuss the specifics (KCSE).
‘‘In a typical school year, Knec conducts two exams; this year, however, we will conduct a total of five exams,” Njengere added.
In order to improve efficacy and efficiency in the marking of the national exams, he urged stakeholders to exchange experiences and suggestions. One of the rules prohibits candidates from taking extra time to complete the KCPE and KCSE assessments.
1. Candidates are not allowed to move around during the examinations unless given special permission from the examiners.
2. The Council has also forbade candidates from speaking with strangers inside or outside the school’s grounds.
3. According to Knec, any sort of misbehavior on the part of candidates will be viewed as an attempt to cheat on the exam.
4. Candidates who act improperly in any way or create a disturbance in the examination room or close by will be disciplined.
5. Candidates are also warned not to reveal their question answers to other students in the exam rooms.
6. They are advised not to leave any writing materials or answers in a place where another candidate could see them.
7. Candidates who write down quick notes and bring them to the exam will suffer the consequences.
8.Knec issued a warning against accessing exam materials and disclosing the information—verbally or in writing—to an unauthorized party. This will result in a fine of no more than Sh2 million, a sentence of incarceration no longer than ten years, or both.
9. As national exams draw near, it will also be illegal for anyone to purposefully harm exam materials.
10.If caught, the offender faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum fine of Sh5 million, or both.
11.The Council has issued a warning against impersonation and issued a warning to those who plan to take the exams in place of applicants.
12.If the impostor is a student, they shall be barred for three years from taking any exams organized by or on behalf of Knec.
13.The offender faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison, a maximum fine of two million shillings, or both.
14.The results for the entire topic will be canceled if any candidate commits an irregularity in the evaluation process in any paper.
15.Should widespread anomalies be discovered in any assessment centre, the assessment results for the entire centre will be cancelled.
16.The testing organization added a warning that, aside from authorized officers, it will be illegal to have and use mobile phones inside testing facilities.
17.Phones and other electronic devices are not permitted in examination rooms for candidates, supervisors, invigilators, or head teachers.
18.However, according to Knec, primary schools having a combined candidate count of thirty (30) or more for both the KCPE and KPSEA exams will be permitted to hold the exam on-site.
19.The Council highlighted that in addition to having sufficient test classrooms that can seat twenty (20) applicants per room with a space of 1.22 meters on either side, the schools must make sure they have a valid registration certificate from the County Education Board.
20.According to the council, schools that have fewer than thirty (30) candidates and are more than five (5) kilometers from the closest testing site must request a special waiver from Knec via the Sub County Director of Education