Mandera student in court over KCSE exam malpractice

A student from Mandera County has been charged with examination malpractice.

Abdirizak Hassan Sheikh, 20, a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam candidate at Ashabito Secondary School in Mandera North denied the charge before Mandera Resident Magistrate Dancun Mtai.

Sheikh was charged with being in possession of unauthorised examination material at the examination centre on November 14.

The candidate was found with a mobile phone containing Biology Paper II examination information.

The magistrate dropped a second charge of being in possession of an electronic device in an examination room that the candidate was facing.

DEFECTIVE

Mr Mtai argued that the second offence, according to Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) Act, was fatally defective.

“The Knec Act does not create any criminal offence but merely provides a good ground for the disqualification of a candidate from taking examinations,” he said.

He further stated that the Act allows for cancellation of examinations already done by the candidate or prohibits the same candidate from taking any future examinations administered by Knec.

According to the magistrate, it is not an offence in the Knec Act for a candidate to have an electronic device in the examination room.

The suspect was set free on a Sh200,000 bond with a surety or a cash bail of Sh100,000.

The case will be mentioned on December 4.

Last Friday, a student and two examinational officials denied engaging in examination malpractice before the same court.