National exams: Over 7,000 candidates under investigation over cheating

The Ministry of Education and the National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA) are investigating more than 7,000candidates for 2025/26 national examination, who are suspected to have cheated and committed other malpractices. Eight days after NESA released the results of the Primary Leaving Examination and Ordinary Level national examinations, some students and entire schools have not received their results. ALSO READ: Over 240 cases of malpractice reported in PLE, O-Level national exams Minister of Education Joseph Nsengimana said the results of candidates suspected of malpractice were deliberately withheld to allow investigations to determine whether cheating had occurred. We are currently investigating 7,188 candidates, Nsengimana told the national broadcaster RBA on Friday, August 28. “When we suspect a case of malpractice, the marks of those suspected candidate are withheld in order for an investigation to occur and establish if cheating actually occurred,” Nsengimana said. He said the number is the highest they have recorded of candidates suspected of having cheated in national examinations. The suspicion came up during the grading process. If candidates in one examination room wrote the same answer, the same wrong answer, the same mistake, that implies a problem, which affects all the candidates in the room, he said. The minister added that investigations would be concluded soon. What raises suspicion of malpractice? NESA Director General Bernard Bahati said suspicion of malpractice is based on two main categories. The first is when a candidate is found with materials that could be used to cheat, such as pieces of paper with answers or phones. “When we come across such things, we take them and make a report of them,” Bahati said. The second category, he said, arises during the marking of national examinations, when markers identify candidates who have worked in the same room and provided the same answers, particularly the same wrong answers, despite studying at different schools and being taught by different teachers. Bahati explained that NESA normally mixes candidates from different schools in the same examination rooms to reduce the possibility of cheating. He added that candidates have the right to appeal after being suspected of cheating, and that their cases are considered before a final decision is made. “Every student has the right to appeal. After he or she gets caught, they can submit their appeal, and when their claim can't prove they didn't cheat, that is when we take the last decision,” he explained. Invigilators suspected of facilitating cheating Bahati said the officials were also investigating invigilators suspected of facilitating malpractice. He said no evidence had been found showing that candidates entered examination rooms carrying written answers or other materials, as they were checked before entering. This raised suspicion that some candidates may have been assisted by invigilators inside the examination rooms. “We see that it is another person who facilitated and took them into malpractice,” Bahati said. Minister Nsengimana said: “For the invigilators who facilitated candidates to cheat, it is no longer a mistake to be punished by MINEDUC, but a crime to be punished by law. For those, the punishment is heavy.” Nsengimana said teachers who facilitate cheating undermine the quality of education and should face serious consequences. A teacher who can facilitate a learner to cheat, he or she is no longer needed in education. He or she must not be in education, he said. He said the investigations will ensure that those who were involved are punished while those who were not involved are not unfairly affected. ALSO READ: Dozens of teachers face sanctions over exam malpractices Results could be cancelled Nsengimana said candidates found guilty of malpractices will face penalties depending on the severity of the offence. “If we establish that cheating happened, where the candidate gets zero in that subject,” he said. He added that NESA determines the punishment based on the seriousness of the malpractice, meaning a candidate could receive zero in an examination or face further consequences. He stressed that the investigations are being handled carefully to ensure that innocent candidates are not punished. “It's true that the results have been delayed for some candidates, but ...we need to know the one who did malpractice and the one who didn’t, to avoid anyone being unfairly punished,” Nsengimana said. He said the suspected malpractices had not been found across entire examination centres. “There is nowhere we saw that the whole examination centre cheated, but some rooms of exams,” he said. Results expected by Monday Nsengimana said the withheld results were expected to be released no later than Monday, August 31, allowing every affected candidate to know their position. “Not later than Monday, the results will be published, and every candidate will know where he or she stands,” he said. He acknowledged that the delay might students and their families' preparation for the new school year, which starts on September 7, but said the process could not be made quicker. Nsengimana noted that malpractices had been reported in previous examinations but that the investigations did not take as long because the number of suspected cases was lower. More than 425,000 candidates sat the PLE and O-Level national examinations. A total of 276,579 candidates from 3,895 schools sat the PLE, while 149,015 candidates sat the O-Level examinations. NESA reported that with 85.7 per cent of PLE and O-Level candidates passed the exams. This was the highest pass rate, according to officials.

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National exams: Over 7,000 candidates under investigation over cheating