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According to a computer scientist and expert in contract cheating, Kenya has established itself as the centre of the academic cheating universe. The vast majority of university students’ work for essay factories which are delivered to British students with a guarantee they contain no plagiarism and all anonymous. In an effort to clamp down on the cheats and after pressure from the British Government, PayPal announced it would block payments to essay factories.

The recent steps taken by the UK government to end the use of essay mills by its students is a blow to thousands of Kenyan students and university graduates who rely on academic contract writing as their main source of income. An integrity expert tells in his blog that the participants think of their jobs as providing a service of value, not as helping people to cheat. They see themselves as working as academic writers but this practice is considered unethical and there are concerns it will have damaging effects on the quality of higher education.

After an attempt to cheat in the ongoing Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations, the Teachers Service Commission has commenced disciplinary action against errant teachers of a Kisii school, Nairobi. The Teachers Service Commission Chief Executive said seven teachers and a school principal are already facing action. Capital FM News established that a Chemistry paper had been sneaked out of the examination room but was quickly confiscated when the attempt to compromise the exam occurred at Monianku Secondary School.

Following a high-level meeting last Friday, top officers from the police service, the Ministry of Education and the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) will be dispatched to six parts of the country to investigate reports of plans to cheat in the forthcoming national examinations. The chairman of KNEC warned principals against collecting money from parents to buy fake examination materials for their candidates.

Last month a student at Mount Kenya University, lost a case in the High Court in which she was challenging her suspension from the university over exam cheating. The judge dismissed the suit after he found that the disciplinary process the university followed was a fair administrative action. The student had gone to court to seek redress, arguing that the yardstick used by the university’s disciplinary committee to arrive at its verdict was unfair, excessive and in violation of the Constitution and her right to a fair hearing. So far, cheating in examinations in universities is widespread not just in Kenya but in most parts of the world.

The Education Cabinet Secretary brushed off critics of the new measures he announced on Wednesday and announced that he will set aside all his ministerial duties in November to go around the country and monitor how the national examinations will be conducted. The secretary, known for his impromptu visits to schools which have put many headteachers on the spot, on Friday said his November 4 to 30 diary had been cleared to ensure he visits schools countrywide. He said there were many other measures the ministry has in the pipeline to stem examination cheating, including the use of technology.

The new rules spelt out by the Education Cabinet Secretary to curb cheating in national examinations signal the government’s determination to restore credibility in the country’s education system. For the past few years, the country has been grappling with rising cases of examination cheating, which reached ridiculous levels last year to the point where the public lost faith in the sanctity of the exams as schools, candidates, parents, examiners, and education and security officers were all roped into the cheating loop. More bold action must be taken to restore the credibility of the exams.

The school calendar has been reorganised and far-reaching changes introduced in the administration of national examinations to curb cheating. The Education CS on Wednesday banned all social activities in the third term — including prayer days, visiting, half term breaks, sports, prize-giving ceremonies and annual general meetings — to cut contact between candidates and outsiders. He also shortened the period for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exams from six weeks to four and put head teachers directly in charge of the tests in their respective schools.

The Ministry of Education is working on new guidelines that will ensure that the integrity of examination certificates is restored. The guidelines set to be tabled soon in Parliament will have stiffer penalties on responsibilities of all those involved in examination process. Sweeping changes have been done at the Kenya National Examinations Council with a view of restoring examinations integrity. Last month, the government disbanded the Kenya National Examinations Council board over last year’s national exams cheating scandal.