Results for 70 schools struck off

Pain and anguish were the ruling emotions at Mbooni Boys High School in Eastern Province on Wednesday after examination results for the entire school were cancelled.

All the 203 boys who sat their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exam will get no result. They are among 732 students countrywide in 70 schools who have had their results withheld over cheating.

Steal answers

The students are accused of using their cell phones to communicate with each other and with people outside the exam halls to steal answers, or copying in some other way. The affected schools are in Nairobi, Coast, Western, Nyanza, Eastern and Central provinces.

Mbooni district education officer Peter Magiri was despondent when he admitted that he had no results to give to Mbooni Boys. Invigilators opened the exam papers and showed them to the students beforehand. The students in turn called their friends and revealed the contents of the exam papers, the Nation has learnt. The invigilators have since been interdicted.

“Nothing came,” he said. “What a waste of talent.” He spoke as he delivered the results for Mbooni Girls, which produced one of the top candidates in the province and posted its best result in 10 years. “Mobile phones from some school administrators and students were confiscated and they revealed a lot about the unusual event goings on,” said a Mbooni education official.

“The students in turn shared the information with their friends in other schools and the network was intercepted as far as Makueni District and beyond,” said a source who spoke on condition of anonymity. “The evidence is strong and that is why action against the school was taken before the results came out,” said the official.

On Wednesday, gloomy faces dotted the school compound as parents and students tried to come to terms with the turn of events. Mr Magiri said 44 candidates in another school, Kakusi Mixed, had their results cancelled. Eastern provincial education officer Beatrice Addu said 19 schools were affected by exam irregularities.

In Coast, 31 exam centres had their results cancelled. According to the Coast provincial director of education, Mr Tom Majani, 14 of these centres were public schools and 16 private. Chandaria hall, was also affected. Mr Majani declined to name the centres for “ethical reasons”.

Some 100 students were involved in the cheating and 95 have had their exam results cancelled while five are under investigation. Coast had 15, 883 candidates in the exam.

Worst affected

The education boss said performance had declined in the province, with schools such as Mama Ngina Girls Secondary, Shimo la Tewa Secondary, Memon Villa High, Allidina Visram high, Aga Khan Secondary, Kenyatta High, Bura Girls High, Murrey Girls High, and Dr Aggrey among those where poor results were noted.

In Nyanza, results for 14 schools have been withheld. Provincial director of education Geoffrey Cherongis said 165 candidates are affected. Moi Nyatike High School in Migori District was the worst affected in the province, with results for 75 candidates being cancelled.

In Gucha District, three schools had their results cancelled, whereas Kisumu West, Kisumu East and Migori Districts had two affected schools each. Only one school was affected in Kisii Central, Rachuonyo, Homa Bay, Nyando and Masaba districts. Mr Cherongis said that his office would investigate all the cases and take appropriate action.

In Western Province, 220 candidates will get no result because of cheating, according to the provincial director of education, Mr Kenneth Misoi. Among the schools are Malava Boys’ High in Kakamega North District, where the results of 114 candidates were cancelled, Kisoko Girls, where 90 candidates are affected and Bishop Sulumeti Girls Secondary where 17 candidates got no results. The candidates got in trouble with the exam council for having access to the examination papers before the scheduled time, or using mobile phones to cheat.

In Nairobi, six students at the troubled Jamhuri High School will get no result. They were accused of using mobile phones in the exam room. The principal, Mr R. M. Wambugu, said invigilators had in 2008 said in their report that some of the students had colluded to cheat.

“It was kind of expected. You all know what happens in cases of exam irregularity,” he said. In 2008, officials of the Kenya National Examinations Council and CID officers frisked candidates at the school and found several cell phones and written material. Knec secretary Paul Wasanga would not comment on the matter. Mr Wambugu did not give details of his school’s performance, but the Nation has learnt that the mean score dropped from seven to five. The school was also affected by the 2008 wave of student unrest.

Reported By Bob Odalo, John Njagi, Cosmas Butunyi, Benson Amadala, Elisha Otieno and Amina Kibirige