KCPE: Ongeri slams teachers over cheating

Education minister Sam Ongeri has decried the new form of cheating in national examinations.

Prof Ongeri said teachers and pupils colluded to cheat in the 2011 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) Wednesday.

When releasing the results at Mitihani House, Nairobi the minister said in one case a teacher received Sh810,000 through the cash transfer service M-Pesa saying he was in a position to provide answers to exam questions.

He said police were hunting for the teacher.

The minister said cheating occurred mainly in examination centres where invigilators, supervisors and pupils colluded to gain unfair advantage. A furious Prof Ongeri said such teachers should be fired since they do not "add value".

Prof Ongeri also directed his Permanent Secretary to ensure that head teachers do not force pupils to repeat classes. He said it was detrimental to Kenya's education system.

The top candidate was Kagiri Christine Muthoni who scored 442 marks out of possible 500. She tied with Irungu Martin.

The top five counties were: Kirinyaga, Nandi, Makueni, Uasin Gishu, Busia.

Candidates can check their results on the Kenya National Examination Council website www.knec.ac.ke, the Education Ministry advised.