Malawi National Examination Board (Maneb) says reports that some examination papers were leaked in this year’s Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) examinations will not affect the outcome of the examinations.
Maneb executive director Gerald Chiunda said this during the opening of a standard fixing and awards meeting held at the board’s headquarters in Zomba yesterday.
Chiunda said investigations into the leakage were at an advanced stage and will not affect the outcome of the MSCE examinations, which he said will be released sooner than in previous years.
He said: “We have heard the [leakage] reports and we opened investigations which are at a very advanced stage. This will not affect the outcome [of the MSCE exams]. There are technical processes that we follow, and I would like to assure the nation that even if it were one or two papers, we should be able to make reasonable decisions not to allow any other person to have a better grade because they indulged in the malpractice. The results will be very credible”.
The meeting, which attracted delegates from Kenya, Uganda and Lesotho national examination bodies as well as local chief examiners, was aimed at awarding grades in various subjects for the MSCE exams.
Chiunda emphasised that the award of grades is a crucial stage of the examinations as the decisions made at the meeting can determine the candidates’ future.
He said: “Determining candidates’ grades in examinations is an important stage of the examination cycle. This is so because, based on these grades, we will be making crucial decisions on the lives of many young people. It is, therefore, very important to note that any decision we will be making today [Tuesday] will have far-reaching implications.”
In an interview on the sidelines of the meeting, Kenya National Examination Council director of test development Patrick Ochich said Africa can do better to reduce cases of examination leakages before and during examinations.
On her part, Lesotho Examination Council manager for basic education Bonnge Taolane said the meeting is uniting Africa and will help to improve the education system in the continent.
This year’s MSCE examinations were marred by reports of leakages of some examination papers which were found on the market before the examinations started.
In Lilongwe, police arrested two teachers for being found with examination papers in their phones while in Mzuzu, police arrested a candidate for entering an examination room with a cell phone which had an examination paper and some answers in it.
