Detectives attached to the Directorate of the Criminal investigation are investigating a case in which a senior official misplaced a key to a container with Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations for twenty-three schools.
According to the Education director Harrison Muriuki, centre managers, education and security officers who had arrived at the Kapsoya collection in Ainabkoi, Uasin Gishu county to collect the examination papers were forced to wait for the container to be forced open following the missing key incidence.
Ainakboi deputy county commissioner was guarding the key to the container, but in the morning, the education official could not find it.
The DCI is investigating whether the padlock was tampered with.
“We forcefully opened the padlock after getting permission from the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC). At 6.30 am, the papers were distributed to the schools. The DCI took the padlock as we wait for its replacement. Police are manning the container at the moment,” Education director Harrison Muriuki stated.
National examinations are stored in containers that are opened in the morning retrieving specific papers that the candidates will be sitting on that day.
The keys to each container are usually in the custody of the area sub-county director of education and the sub-county deputy commissioner.
The education officials are mandated to be present during the opening of the containers under 24-hour surveillance.
The 2021 KCSE examinations commenced on Monday amid isolated cases of examination malpractice in at least six centres across the country.