Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has warned candidates and examination officials against photographing and sharing Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination papers, saying hidden security features embedded in the scripts make it possible to trace leaked images to their source.
Ogamba said the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) had introduced serialisation and anonymised indicators on examination papers, enabling investigators to identify the candidate, examination room and centre from which a photographed script originated.
He warned that examination officials found to have facilitated the malpractice, including allowing candidates to access mobile phones inside examination rooms, would face legal consequences.
The CS spoke on Wednesday while addressing the media and security officers overseeing the examinations during a monitoring tour of State House Girls Senior School in Nairobi.
"Because of the anonymous indicators in the script, we are able to tell almost immediately that it was this student in this room in this centre. And so because somebody must have dropped the ball, it means the whole team in that room might end up facing the law. That's why we are encouraging us not to allow any such activity to take place," he said.
Ogamba said the security measures had made it difficult for anyone involved in photographing and circulating examination papers to conceal the source of the images.
"It's now not possible to say this didn't come from this place because the script is serialised and is anonymised so even the students themselves get to be known who they are because now, we can be able to pick you almost immediately," he said.
He further disclosed that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations had assigned officers to work with KNEC, enabling authorities to move swiftly against suspected offenders.
"We've been given our own DCI team that's allocated to KNEC and they're able to come and pick you almost immediately if you are involved. So, pass the message that it's no longer the way it used to be that you can hide behind somebody or something," he warned.
The CS also questioned how candidates could gain access to mobile phones inside examination rooms whereas examination officials are required to frisk them before they enter.
"You'll have to explain why, for example, a student had a phone inside the classroom because when you are supposed to frisk them before they pass through, so how come that was not done? It means there's somebody who was involved," he said.
Ogamba added that no one is above the law as regards obedience of the KNEC rules and regulations, which are aimed at safeguarding the integrity of the examinations.
"Even us, we keep our phones as examinations are going on as required by KNEC," Ogamba said, concluding his statement with a warning to anyone contemplating examination malpractice.
"We are watching, big brother is watching."
His warning comes against the backdrop of growing efforts to prevent examination malpractice during this year's national examinations, following the arrest of a student in Bungoma county over allegations of sharing examination papers online.
The arrest highlighted the risks of circulating examination materials on social media amid heightened surveillence and authorities' determination to pursue those involved in compromising the integrity of the national examinations.
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