Effectiveness of Kenya National Examinations Council Measures for Curbing Malpractices in National Examinations in Kenya

Abstract

The occurrence of examination irregularities can seriously damage public confidence in the validity and legitimacy of examination results. The purpose of this study was to find out how effectively the Kenya National Examination Council measures are implemented to curb examination malpractices in secondary schools in Kisii County. The Kenya National Examination Council has outlined measures to curb examination malpractices at the KCSE examination but it is not clear why these measures seem not to be effective. To contextualize the study, a summarized trend of the examination malpractices in different countries has been provided. The study also gives a general overview of examination malpractices in Kenya and the involvement of Kisii County in particular. Existing literature seems not to have addressed this issue effectively hence this study. Six research questions guided the study. The study was anchored on the theory of planned behaviour by Ajzen (1985) which considers the student‟s attitude towards an act, the pressure to engage in an act and the ease with which one engages in the act. Data were collected from 867 participants who were interviewed using interview guides and focus group discussions. The study used the mixed methods designs to analyze data. The information was analyzed by descriptive statistics. SPSS (version 11.5) was used to do descriptive statistics, Chi- Square and ANOVA. Findings from the study indicate that the malpractices that occur at class level influence the malpractices that occur during KCSE and that school categories have significant relationship with occurrence of examination malpractices. The recommendations made to curb this problem includes among others emphasizing on quality education and holistic formation rather than examinations alone and the education system considering using the assessments carried out in school to contribute to a student‟s final grade.