Education PS orders schools to halt all non-academic activities, visits in third term

Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang has issued a directive warning schools across the country against engaging in non-academic activities throughout the third term.

In a circular dated September 3, 2024, he instructed regional, county, and sub-county directors to enforce a ban on school activities and visits during the entire term.

Among the prohibited activities are prayer days for candidates, motivational speeches, and sports events.

The measures, which have been effective since 2021, are intended to curb malpractices ahead of national examinations.

“Your attention is drawn to the directive via a circular dated January 21, 2021, by the Ministry of Education not allowing indicated activities and visits to schools during the third term. Please note that the ban on these activities still stands. It is important that the ban is strictly adhered to by all relevant individuals and organisations,” Kipsang said in the circular.

“The purpose of this circular is to ask you to enforce the directive by ensuring that schools do not conduct any of these activities. Please bring the content of this circular to the attention of all schools under your jurisdiction.”

While the Ministry has banned all non-academic activities to tame exam cheating, the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has introduced further measures to ensure the integrity of this year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams.

KNEC Chief Executive Officer David Njengere announced that the 2024 KCSE exam papers will be customised for each candidate, featuring their name, index number, and school.

Parents and students await to board matatus at the Tea Room stage in Nairobi's CBD on August 26, 2024. (Photo: Justine Ondieki)

“What we are saying is that we shall personalise the examination papers so that each candidate will have their details already printed. This means that in case of malpractices, we shall ask the candidate why they allowed their paper to be used by someone else,” Njengere said during a meeting at the Mitihani House.

The shift to personalised exam papers replaces the previous method, where candidates wrote their details on the papers—a practice that had been exploited for impersonation and other forms of cheating.

Njengere highlighted that this change would prevent the issue of extra papers and photocopying, stating, “No extra papers will also be printed.”

To further ensure integrity, the section of the paper with the candidate's details will be removed and packed separately to prevent identification during marking. Njengere added that the personalisation will help track individuals involved in cheating rather than penalising entire schools or examination centres.

This year, Knec will be administering national examinations and assessments to a total of 2,279,397 candidates. Njengere emphasised that candidates caught cheating will be held individually responsible, marking a shift from past practices where entire centres could face penalties.

The council has also introduced measures to improve the handling and collection of examination papers, including the construction of 41 additional containers to prevent early paper exposure.

The 2024 KCSE examinations are scheduled to begin with a rehearsal on Friday, October 18, 2024, followed by the official exams starting on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, and concluding on Friday, November 22, 2024.