Most, if not all, of us can remember our secondary school examinations. I for one can remember mine .. the motley collection of green, yellow and white examination papers that scared the crap & living daylights concerned you gravely the second before you opened them and skimmed desperately to see if you knew anything.

The pot-bellied invigilator with the growl of a bear and the breath of a horse.

Titrating 50ml of substance x into 50ml of substance white and waiting desperately for something to happen, because there are 6 or so lines left blank for you to record “observations”

Forgetting to maintain the beaker contents at 30 degrees and suddenly realizing that merry bubbling is from your equipment.

Being expected to draw in great detail the leg of a housefly, horsefly and other such nebulous insect, despite the fact you can barely see the bloody thing, even under a microscope.

Ridiculous examination questions like draw and label an optical microscope, or write a letter to a visiting cousin.

Anyway, the exams have come around and this years’ are controversial because in Mombasa it has been possible to obtain exam papers in advance, before they have been sat.

  • The paper appears to have leaked
  • The Ministry of Education and the Kenya National Examinations Council denies any such thing
  • The East Africa Standard sourced a copy of a paper the day before it was scheduled for sitting. The Daily Nation were also able to source some papers
  • The Ministry of Education and the Kenya National Examinations Council denies any such thing

And right now I am watching a heated debate on television. On the panel is the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Education, a senior official from the Kenya National Examinations Council and Professor Ruth Oniango, a nominated MP.

Within five minutes I was stunned into silence by the loud and passionate denials from the two gentlemen denying that the paper had leaked.

I expected no less because in typical Emperor and his New Clothes fashion, the acting Minister for Education, Dr Noah Wekesa denied any such thing had taken place. And so did his Assistant Minister, Dr Kilemi Mwiria.

When a grown man, presumably in sound mind and body has the temerity to say

Getting a paper a few hours before the paper cannot help the candidate. In fact the candidate will be even more confused?

I have watched in amazement gentlemen denying the paper has leaked when there is video footage to the contrary.

The gentleman on the panel are denying hotly that leakage has taken place to the joint amazement of myself and Professor Oniango.

One of these chaps is saying:

It is only leakage if the
paper is found in possession
of a student.

Huh?

Within a few moments the other is saying

It cannot be leakage unless the paper is gotten more than a few hours before it is due to be sat.

I may be a product of 8-4-4 but I do believe that at least some of my neurons are firing.

And to cap it off the Permanent secretary has to audacity to ask us

Give us the evidence
that there is cheating.

What more evidence can there be that sauntering down to Mombasa and buying the Chemistry paper on the eve of the exam?

Maybe it’s just me but I am of the opinion that if anyone can get their grubby hands on an exam paper before it is actually sat, I believe that paper has leaked. It has leaked because

  1. Someone who is not a candidate has been able to access the paper
  2. The paper is available to before it is to be sat.

Or am I missing something?

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