No Room for Malpractice, Machogu Assures Ahead of National Exams
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has informed Kenyans that all preparations are complete for the start of the three national examinations on November 28.
Exam materials have been sent to the 493 storage and distribution locations across the nation, and security has been increased in anticipation of the exam day, according to Machogu.
In a matter of days, the first Junior high examination will be administered alongside the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education tests.
According to CS Machogu, all systems go as examination materials have already been distributed to 493 storage facilities across the country.
In addition, he chimed in on the controversy over where junior high kids will be housed, stating that conversations are continuing and the deadlock will be resolved shortly.
Machogu spoke as he met with Kisumu County principals and education directors at the Kisumu girls.
Machogu said on Thursday that there would be no middle ground when it comes to enforcing rules that are meant to protect the integrity of the national exams.
He said that everything was ready to go before the test even started.
He told a group of school principals at Kisii school, “Let’s all agree that me and mediocrity are never friends. We all need to step up our game.”
The CS went to Siaya and Kisumu counties before coming to Kisii. On Friday, he will go to Migori and Homabay.
In Kisii, the CS warned against being lazy and not trying hard enough to stop cheating in general.
He said there should be no sacred cows and that any center manager who broke the rules would be punished quickly.
He said that cheating was often caused by the fact that most principals wanted to save time.
“What brings us together is honest and hard work and there must serious efforts from each one of us to do it right,” he said.
He said that the country’s education system would help everyone, no matter their grade, so people wouldn’t have to lie and cheat to get good grades.
The Education CS was with PS Dr. Julius Juan and Dr. David Nyegere, the head of the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development.
Up to 557,820 people have registered to vote in the Nyanza region, and about 113,000 people have registered to vote in Kisii. Nyamira has 53000 candidates.
Machogu is going on a whirlwind of tours all over the country to prepare for upcoming tests.
He said the test materials had already been sent to the different Counties.
When Machogu talked about invigilation, he told Centre managers to be on the lookout for any wrongdoing.
He also asked technical schools to put more thought into their skill-building programs if they were to help fill the skills gap in the job market.
He said that anecdotal evidence shows that most schools have spent more money on theory courses than technical ones.
Machogu said that DP Rigathi Gachagua and the president would be in charge of handing out the exam materials in Nairobi at some point.
Dr. David Njeng’ere, the head of the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec), defended the use of exams by saying that they are still the best way to see if students have learned what is in the curriculum.
He also asked for the tests to be closely watched.
“Let’s enforce the rules strictly,” he said.
Nyegere told the heads of the schools that rumours on social media about exam leaks were not true.
Instead, he asked teachers to help test-takers study and review well before the test.
