An invigilator and supervisor at Chisangawe Secondary School in Nkhata Bay have been arrested for negligence of official duty.
The two were nabbed after Malawi National Examinations Board (Maneb) officials discovered that papers for the school’s 26 candidates in the Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) examinations carried same answers.
Speaking in an interview on Tuesday, Northern Region Police spokesperson Maurice Chapola confirmed the arrest of the supervisor Hastings Kondowe, 41, of Kalengele Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Khondowe in Nkhata Bay and the invigilator David Mhone, 39, of Kandezu Village, T/A Mkumbira in the same district.
According to Chapola, the two were arrested after officials at Maneb allegedly discovered that the candidates’ papers had same answers despite the answers being right or wrong.
“We have arrested the two and they have been charged with negligence of official duty, contrary to Section 121 of the Penal Code,” said Chapola.
Maneb spokesperson Simeon Maganga also confirmed the arrest of the two, saying investigations are underway to establish what transpired.
He, however, said Section 14 of the Maneb Act makes it clear that should a candidate be convicted of examination-related malpractices, he or she should be sentenced to two years in jail with hard labour and fined K50 000.
“For non candidates, the maximum sentence is K300 000 fine and 10-year jail term,” said Maganga.
