By Shaban Omar
Police are investigating several teachers following an incident on Monday at Waa Boys High School in Matuga, Kwale County, where students were found with 10 mobile phones during the ongoing KCSE exams.
Initially, three students were discovered with the devices, but a subsequent search uncovered six more phones.
Ahmed Mohamed, the area education director, confirmed that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has taken over the matter.
He said that once the investigation is complete, appropriate legal actions will be taken against those responsible.
Mohamed criticized the teachers for failing to adequately perform their duties.
“The students are innocent in this case. If proper frisking had been conducted and clear instructions given about not bringing phones, this entire situation could have been avoided,” he said.
He said there is a possibility that the students might have been allowed in exam rooms with the electronic devices intentionally.
Mohamed said the DCI will be able to tell what transpired once investigations are completed.
County Director of Education Ahmed Mohamed speaks in an interview in his office at Kwale Headquarters in Matuga, Kwale County in 2024
However, Mohamed noted that the incident has not compromised the credibility of the examinations maintaining that everything remains under control.
He added that all students will continue with their exams, with stringent measures now in place to prevent similar incidents from occurring.
He said that they have decided to reshuffle the invigilators, assigning male supervisors to boys’ schools and female supervisors to girls’ schools.
According to the director, some students have exploited the presence of opposite-gender supervisors to conceal phones in private body parts, knowing they are less likely to be frisked thoroughly by a teacher of the opposite gender.
“We have decided to take all male invigilators to boys’ schools and females to girls’ schools so that they can properly frisk the students,” he said.
He reassured the public that there is no cause for alarm, emphasizing that all stakeholders are committed to safeguarding the integrity of the national exams.
