CS Magoha reveals ‘ghost candidates’ trick used for exam cheating

Examination centre managers have been registering extra candidates who do not exist to facilitate cheating in national exams.

This is according to Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. George Magoha who warned against this practice saying it will incur heavy penalties.

Speaking in Vihiga County on Tuesday, Prof. Magoha revealed how the center managers collude with teachers to duplicate copies of the paper and circulate answers to candidates.

As the ministry steps up measures to ring-fence the integrity of the national examinations, the CS revealed how the cheating racket was unearthed having gained traction over the years.

“There seemed to be so many absent candidates, and some of them were actually ghost candidates, and the reason why they create ghost candidates is that there there’s a paper which then can be smuggled out without somebody really knowing because you have to wait for up to half an hour to stop a candidate from coming in to take the exams, and by that time if you are smart enough you would have smuggled the paper out, photocopied and brought it back,” he said.

Magoha however expressed confidence that the ministry is firmly on course to weed out such instances, working with administrative heads to ensure that all registered candidates sit for the exams.

“If there is a child who is missing at the beginning of the exam, we go for the child at home, we have chiefs here…we have gone even to homes and pleaded with the children to go back and do the exams…so there will still be a few absentees, but then they will be very genuine,” stated the CS.

Meanwhile, one student from Wajir East was on Monday nabbed with a mobile phone in the examination hall. The Education CS called on supervisors to enhance checks for candidates.

“As we respect religion, can we also make sure that we frisk properly…we respect whichever religion you have, there is freedom of worship, but don’t use religion to smuggle a cell phone in to an examination hall,” he said.

Magoha also revealed that the marking of the 2021 KCPE exams has been concluded, with the results awaiting commissioning by the president before being released later in the week.