Guard the integrity of Kenya's national exams
December 19, 2023
Original Article: https://www.the-star.co.ke/opinion/leader/2023-10-24-guard-the-integrity-of-national-exams/
Two of our most competitive national school exams start in a few days.
In mid-October, a parliamentary probe revealed that cheating and attempts to gain undue advantage and score great results had resulted in parents and school administrators devising every method to beat the system.
Some of the most shameful attempts to cheat are arranged by head teachers who believe that the hallmark of being considered a remarkable and outstanding teacher is by getting fake As. But it does not stop there.
Many As comes with handsome cash rewards for head teachers and teachers. They use the results as an extortion tool. They demand that parents pay a premium to have their daughters and sons admitted into the school.
There can be no better place to ruin a society than by having teenagers taught that cheating works and is approved of by both their parents and teachers.
We call upon the Kenya National Examination Council to do everything in its power to stamp out the crooks in its payroll who collude with school heads and criminals at a fee to ruin our nation by planting the wrong and criminal ideas in the minds of youth.
The police should probe WhatsApp groups used to pass leaked exams. The integrity of the national exams is too vital to be left to criminals to toy around with.
Quote of the day: “There is something maddening about mediocrity that calls forth the worst in those who are forced to deal with it.”