Examination cartels are to blame for the increasing arson attacks in schools Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has said.
Speaking from his Jogoo House office on Tuesday, Dr Matiang’i said frustrated students who cannot get national examination papers promised by the cartels are behind the spate of fires in schools.
From students who have been arrested and arraigned in court, Matiang’i said information by police and head teachers show that students had already paid for the papers but those behind exam cheating had been unable to procure the tests. This is after the government dismantled the cartels which used to distribute the papers from the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC).
“They said they had been promised they would get samples towards the end of the second term but that has not been the case,” Dr Matiang’i said.
Matiang'i said the key trigger for the anarchy was fear that the students would fail exams because they had not been shown the sample tests.
So far, more than 100 schools have been affected by the protests in the past two months. From these, more than 150 students have been charged in court with destruction of property and conspiracy to start fires.
The Standard on Saturday last week reported that the Prof George Magoha who chairs the newly-constituted KNEC has ordered generation of a fresh set of questions different from the ones previously sent to the printer.
Prof Magoha said KNEC said, “Our mandate is about delivering fool proof credible examinations for Standard Eight and Form Four candidates and that we shall do.”
This move has sent panic around schools that have been colluding with rogue officials at KNEC who have reportedly been pocketing as much as Sh10,000 for the examination materials they leak.
The Standard reports that former principals who spoke to the publication confessed the existence of examination-cheating cartels that have blossomed over the years. The cartels have however been subdued by the strict examination reforms causing the chaos in schools.
Allegedly, a principal who retired from teaching three years ago confessed that for a long time, school heads obtained “possible examination questions” ahead of time, which they used to coach students.
“By July, students will have been taken through the likely topics that would be tested and schools pay for it,” said the principal, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) have however blamed the protests on the changes made to the school calendar by Dr Matiang’i early this year.
KNUT and Kuppet have called for the immediate closure of the schools to ease tension and avert further damage to property but Dr Matiang’i ruled out ending the term prematurely, saying the arson attacks only affected “a small percentage of schools” and did not warrant a drastic decision because it would disrupt the majority of schools, which were operating normally.
The second term was initially set to end on August 5 but was extended to August 12. Schools open two weeks later on August 29 which shortens the holidays to two weeks from the previous four. However, the two weeks reduced from the August break are made up for in December as the third term will last nine weeks from the previous 12.
These changes were introduced as part of broader measures to curb cheating in exams.