MOSES GAHIGI probes why the exam cheating vice lingers on despite a massive war against it

The 2008 Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) exams ended last week on a sad note. During the exercise, the Rwanda National Examination Council (RNEC) supervisors discovered that some teachers were providing answers to candidates.

The RNEC is also monitoring the senior three exams currently going on to prevent possible malpractices. Ordinarily, teachers are the custodian of morals; so for them to be found helping students to earn marks they have not worked for is indeed an absurd.

John Rutayisire, the Executive Secretary of The Rwanda National Examination Council (RNEC) says the war against exam malpractices is on but "some teachers always betray us.”

Rutayisire says one of the culprits is Anastaz Kanyarufungo, a teacher in Rwezamenyo Primary school- Kayonza district.

"He was found by RNEC scouts while verbally communicating answers to pupils in a mathematics exam.”

Kanyarufungo is currently in prison while awaiting court action. Rutayisire says the RNEC will continue doing surveillances in different parts of country those found engaging in exam malpractices will answer accordingly.

Another teacher at Rwezamenyo primary school who declined to be named because the issue is sensitive blames his fellow teachers for leaking exams to students.

"The war against exam malpractices will never be defeated as long as teachers continue to leak papers to the candidates,” the primary teacher says. He said the pupils were victims of circumstances and teachers were the most culprits.

"We cannot have a society where leaders who are supposed to instill morals in the young generations are the ones violet them,” he said on Wednesday.

Asked about measures in place to curb the vice apart from the punitive threats to culprits, the RNEC head revealed that they had beefed up security both at the different examination centers around the country and places where exams are kept, to avoid premature access to exams by the public.

When exams are being carried out respective centers, they are tightly guarded by army officials and the Rwanda National Police and this further explains why fingers are largely pointed to the teachers and other insiders. 

"While the pupils can try to forge a round, the main problem appears to emanate from people like teachers who have direct access to the papers,” explains Rutayisire.

He added that the reasons for the tight security arise from the fact that school authorities in the past years have been involved in malpractices during the national examinations and this has always affected the results.

This time, Rutayisire explains the council has come up with measures of ensuring that the exams do not leak and the exercise is done transparently with no malpractices.

Last year, the Rwanda National Examinations Council (RNEC) and a city school were embroiled in a muddle of examination malpractices allegations.

The conflict started when RNEC withheld the 2006 Senior Six results of Ecole des Sciences Sociales et Administratives de Nyarugunga, commonly known as ESSA Nyarugunga, accusing both the school authorities and the students of engaging in examination malpractices.

The same year, results for two hundred and thirty Primary Six and Senior Three candidates were cancelled by RNEC and the council warned that stern action would be taken against schools using unethical methods in order to excel in national examinations.

Among the innovations in place to check malpractices and enhance efficiency include on-line registration and personalised photographs on candidate’s diplomas as well as finger prints to guard against forgery.

All measures to stamp out exam malpractices in schools are welcome but the vice to be rooted completely stakeholders must walk their talk.

Ends