Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Julius Migos Ogamba has said there will be “no room for exam malpractice” as at least 3.63 million learners sit for Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) and Kenya Juniour School Education (KJSEA) assessments today, Monday, October 26.

Speaking at the Makindu Sub-County Deputy Commissioner’s Office in Makueni County, CS Ogamba stressed that government will take serious action against people involved in examination irregularities.

He also urged parents not to bow to the whims of fraudsters promising national examination papers.

“The government will not tolerate any examination malpractice in any form or manner,” he said. “Centre managers, supervisors, invigilators, and all officials entrusted with the administration of examinations and assessments must discharge their responsibilities with the highest standards of integrity and professionalism.”

His warning comes amid claims of some 260,000 learners missing from this year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and KJSEA registration figures compared with the numbers who sat their previous national examinations and assessments.

Dylan Teti, a Lower Kihara Primary School pupil from Gachie, was ready for his national examinations. Teti, 11, noted that Mathematics and English were the opening papers, followed by Integrated Science and Kiswahili on Tuesday, October 27.

“We will sit for the Creative Arts and Sports, Social Studies, and CRE exams on Wednesday, October 28,” Teti, 11, says, noting that “Integrated Science consists of Science, Agriculture, and Nutrition.”

Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has revealed that 1,233,852 candidates sat the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) in 2022, but just 1,048,355 have registered for this year’s KCSE.

Additionally, 1,281,210 learners sat the KPSEA in 2023 compared with 1,206,028 registered for this year’s KJSEA.

The bottom line remains that there is a huge gap in student enrollment between early primary and senior secondary school cycles. KNEC says the enrollment gap between KPSEA (Grade 6) and KJSEA (Grade 9) stands at 75,182 learners, which is about 5.87% of the 2023 cohort, vanished from the system, or are simply unaccounted for.

This raises a critical question: is the government simply kicking the can down the road?

The jury is out.