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The Kenyan Certificate of Primary Education examinations ended last week while the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations begin Monday. They both mark the culmination of a year of reforms of the systems and processes for managing those exams. While there is still a number of hurdles to cross in order to stamp out corruption entirely, the positive measures that the CS of Education has introduced will be celebrated in public when the results are announced in February, 2017.

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.

Malindi's deputy District Education Officer has asked head teachers to ensure that students complete the syllabus in time. He said failure by teachers to complete the syllabus early hurts the students' performance in national exams. She said completing the syllabus in time will encourage good performance and curb any irregularities in the exam.

The system is open to abuse because there is no counterchecking and quality assurance by the Education ministry of exam registration, marking and results. As a result, dishonest heads collected exam fees from students but failed to register them, said the Kenya National Association of Parents.