Why teachers refuse to expose cheating during exam marking - Advocate Kennedy Echesa

Speaking on Citizen TV’s The Explainer show on Tuesday, Echesa accused the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) of discouraging examiners from reporting cheating cases by having 'tedious' channels for reporting the malpractices.

According to him, if a teacher finds a student cheating, the process of reporting the act until an action is taken may take a long time and therefore a lot of supervisors and teachers avoid reporting the cases.

“The reporting system and the procedures are complicated; if you get an irregularity you have to make a report. This report has to be taken to the chief examiner, it has to bring problems at the centre…the procedure is so complicated that teachers no longer see the need of engaging in it,” Echesa stated.

“They finish marking on December 24th. if you report an irregularity you may just have 2 or 3 more days in Nairobi. So do you miss Christmas?.” 

The lawyer also pointed an accusing finger at the KNEC over its failure to motivate examiners and supervisors by paying them little allowances as well as taking too long to disburse the payments.

Echesa says the government pays peanuts to supervisors for the tiresome process and most of them end up lacking the drive to carry out their tasks.

He noted that Centre managers who are at the highest level in any institution get about Ksh.500 in a day their deputies are not paid anything while invigilators and supervisors pocket about Ksh.400 and Ksh.600 respectively.

“Teachers go to mark as a routine…since they are poorly paid, they have no business at the centre other than marking and giving the strips to the next person," he claimed.

He added: “Centre managers are paid Ksh.500 in a day; as principals. Deputies are not paid anything. Invigilators are paid Ksh.400, supervisors about Ksh.600. You suffer in the rains for 3 weeks and think you will sustain the integrity of the exam? That cannot happen!”

Further, he faults KNEC for the delay in disbursing the funds saying that sometimes teachers are forced to wait for about one year before they are paid for marking exams.

“Because they are poorly remunerated, they have no interest in safeguarding the integrity of the exam. You are also paid after one year…the Ksh.400 you are not paid immediately,” he added.