TSC bans social media as it steps up its campaign exam malpractices.
TSC bans social media. Teachers are prohibited from using social media platforms that have been reported for being used to distribute phony test materials.
Teachers will no longer be able to join the approximately 33 WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, and X—formerly Twitter—groups as normal during this exam period.
“TSC will not hesitate to take stern disciplinary action against any teacher found to be capable of abetting examination malpractice,” stated Dr. Nancy Macharia, Chief Executive of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
The 380,000 teachers in the nation are not allowed to use any of the approximately 33 social media platforms and websites that Dr. Macharia specified in a circular obtained by The Sunday Standard.
According to her, the websites have been reported for selling forged exam papers.
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“Criminals have begun disseminating or distributing fictitious papers that appear to be exam materials… The August 7 circular states, “The government has flagged the attached social media platforms disseminating fake examination material.”
Copies of the circular are sent to the Regional Directors, County Directors, Sub County Directors, and Kenya National Examination (KNEC).
The TSC’s head of staffing, Antonina Lentoijoni, emphasized Dr. Macharia’s circular on Saturday.
She stated, “Earlier this week, we sent a circular to all teachers and schools cautioning against participating in any social media forums that support cheating on the 2023 exam and assessments.”
TSC bans social media
In order to offer a legitimate examination, she continued, “I call upon all supervisors, invigilators, and center managers to desist from examination malpractices and ensure that the examinations are performed in line with the stated norms and regulations.”
“I direct that all individuals who will be involved in the administration of this year’s examination and assessments uphold integrity in carrying out their roles and exercise vigilance to deter any form of examination malpractice,” Antonina continued.
She provided an overview of the exam route during a meeting with three Principal Secretaries, including John Tanui (ICT), Belio Kipsang, and Raymond Omollo (Interior), at St. George Primary School in Nairobi.
Along with the targeting of digital platforms in the crackdown on agents of examination malpractices, it also emerged that the Communication Authority will recognize, flag, and remove social media posts.
Acting CAK Director General Christopher Wambua stated, “We are monitoring our social media platforms on a 24-hour basis to ensure that any forums that are meant to defraud Kenyans on the pretext that they are sharing sample examination papers will be brought down very fast.”
In the fight against exam malpractice, Wambua stated that they are collaborating with the National Cybersecurity Center, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, and the social media platforms.
TSC bans social media
Additionally, the DCI issued a warning, threatening to arrest users of the designated social media networks who purport to have exam papers. The deputy director of DCI, Nicholas Kamwende, stated that they will be in charge of finding and apprehending people that the CAK has flagged.
“Our job is to make sure the law is followed and people who are trafficking social media messages are arrested,” Kamwende stated.
PS Kipsang expressed optimism that the early exposure problem will be resolved by the solutions.
“We are going to pick this year’s examination twice because early exposure is when you gain access the same day the examination is done, as the parliamentary committee observed and the presidential working party identified,” Dr. Kipsang said.
According to reports, one suspect was taken into custody on Thursday of last week as part of a social media enforcement campaign.
TSC bans social media
The DCI claims that Nicholas Ngumbau Kalewa, also known as “Mr Examiner,” created over ten Whatsapp and Telegram profiles and offered to sell fictitious examination papers for Sh1,500 to Sh2,000. He claimed to hold both the primary and secondary national examination papers.
The DCI wrote on social media platform X, “The examiner had opened over 10 Whatsapp and Telegram accounts where he was hawking the fake examination papers at a partly Sh1,500 per paper and Sh2,000 for a complete examination with a marking scheme.”
Later, when detectives broke into the group by pretending to be students, they witnessed the teacher warn more than 900 members not to talk about other things, especially in his email, since he was too busy taking care of his clients.
The instructor also warned them about con artists, emphasizing that he was the only one with genuine goods.
The implementation of the mobile phone ban at examination centers is part of the approach to safeguard the test.
The only people who can use mobile phones in their offices are center managers. Additionally, teachers are not permitted on the exam centers’ grounds.
TSC bans social media
This comes as word spreads that, as part of a larger plan to ensure the national exams, all secondary school teachers will be sent as examination officials away from their stations.
“A total of 223,000 teachers have been identified and vetted by the commission to serve as supervisors and invigilators. At the same time, 71,760 center managers have been identified to be involved in the administration of this year’s exams,” Antonina stated.
According to Omollo, two command centers have been established to handle malpractices and any situations that may arise.
He mentioned that another support center has been established at the CAK to help with coordination and emergency response.
According to Omollo, the emergency response offices and security committees would handle logistics in areas impacted by flooding.
