CS Ogamba warns exam ‘cheats’ as KCSE begins

By Peter Ochieng

Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Education Julius Migos Ogamba is presiding over his first Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams, since replacing Ezekiel Machogu in August, 2024.

A record 965,501 candidates are sitting for the exam which started on Monday morning, compared to last year’s 903,138.

KCSE is being administered in 10,754 centres across the Country.

Speaking while officiating the start of the exam in Kibra, Nairobi County on Monday morning, CS Ogambo said they are monitoring social media platforms in order to ruthlessly deal with those purporting to have, and sharing exam papers.

“Already, we are undertaking surveillance on social media and are taking action against sites purporting to have access to examination papers,” warned the CS.

“Anybody found engaging in exam malpractice will be arrested and prosecuted, whether it is a student, teacher, parent or government official,” he added.

In areas with security challenges such as tana River, the CS stated that candidates are sitting for examination in General Service Unit (GSU) camps.

“In areas like Tana River where there were security concerns, the candidates were taken to take their exams from safety centres like GSU camps. Those affected by floods have also been taken good care of.”

Belio Kipsang, Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of education said security has been tightened across the country to ensure the exams go on smoothly.

"We have adequate security. Our colleagues across the security sector, the DCI, our police, all security personnel, are part of this exercise," he stated.

“We assure everyone that we are prepared as a government to ensure this exam goes smoothly and delivers well for our children as a team,” added Kipsang.

For the better part of this month, candidates will sit for assessment, having taken oral and practical exams for the elective subjects, towards the end of last month.