The Impact Of Examination Malpractices On Student's Academic Performance In Ogembo Division, Gucha District, Kenya

Background to the Study 

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948, states that "everyone has a right to education". The World Conference on Education for All (EFA) held in Jomtien, Thailand in 1990, sparked off a new impetus towards basic education. It noted, "That to serve the basic needs for all requires more than a recommitment to basic education as now exists. What is needed is an expanded vision that surpasses resource levels, institutional structures, curricula and conventional delivery systems, while building on the best in the practices". Since independence in 1963, the Government of Kenya has had a commitment to expand the education system to enable greater access to the population. This has been in response to a number of concerns, among them the desire to combat ignorance, disease and poverty; and the belief that every Kenyan child has the right of access to basic welfare provisions, including education. Thus the government undertook the obligation to provide its citizens with the educational opportunity in order to take part fully in the socio-economic and political development of the country and to attain a decent standard of living. The policy of the Kenya government to achieve Universal Primary Education (UPE) has to be seen within the wider international context The Amman Mid-Decade Review of Education tor all (1996) reaffirmed the commitment to the Jomtien resolutions. It observed that the provision of basic education, especially for girls, has remained elusive in many less industrialized countries. This was said to be particularly so in Africa, where ethnic tensions and conflicts have displaced many households, thus denying children opportunities of going to school. The Dakar Conference of 2000 reviewed developments in achieving UPE in the African continent. It set as one of the EF A goals "eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015". This was further endorsed by the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Among other things they set targets "to ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling". Within this broad policy framework, the expansion of learning institutions has been one of the greatest achievements in the education sector since independence in 1963. Kenya has achieved an impressive increase in adult literacy. The achievements in literacy have reflected the country's impressive progress in expanding access to education during the last four decades largely by establishing a comprehensive network of schools throughout the country. The substantial expansion of education has generally resulted in an increased participation by groups that previously had little or no access to schooling. Enrolment of a greater percentage of girls and indeed the attainment of Universal Primary Education (UPE) has been the long-term objective in the primary education sub-sector, since 1974 when the first FPE program was announced by the government. However, numerous problems have be-deviled various interventions over the years. The declaration of FPE in January 2003 was in recognition of education as a basic right of all Kenyan children as articulated in the Children's Act (2001) laws ofKenya. However, the FPE program has encountered several challenges, thus affecting the performance of the pupils. This has been seen from the recent trends in the primary leaving examination results, with a high number of cancelled examinations on cases of malpractice. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION ............................................................................................................. i

APPROVAL ............................................................................................................... ii

DEDICATION ........................................................................................................... iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENT ............................................................................................ iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................... v

ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................. viii

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Background to the Study ...................................................................................... I

1.4.1 Research Questions .......................................................................................... 4

1.5 Scope of the Study ................................................................................................ 4

1.6 Significance of the Study ..................................................................................... 5

CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................................ 6

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ...................................................................... 6

2.1 Overview ............................................................................................................... 6

2.2 Find out the Impact of Examination Malpractice on Students Performance ....... 6

CHAPTER THREE .......................................................................................................... 14

3.0 Overview ............................................................................................................. 14

3.1 Research Design ................................................................................................. 14

3.2 Population of the Study ...................................................................................... 14

3.3 Study Sa1nple ...................................................................................................... 14

3.6 Research Procedure ................................................................................................ I 5

3.8 Limitations of the Study ..................................................................................... 15

CHAPTER FOUR ............................................................................................................. 17

PRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA .................... 17

4.0 Chapter Overview .............................................................................................. 17

Table 4.1 Response Rate ............................................................................................... 17

4.1 Age of Respondents ................................................................................................ 17

4.2 Teachers Bio Data .............................................................................................. 18

4.2.2 Work Experience ................................................................................................. 18

Table 4. 3: Teacher's Work Experience ....................................................................... 18

4.3.1 Age ....................................................................................................................... I 9

4.3.2 Administrators Work Experience ........................................................................ 19

Table 4.5: Administrators Work Experience ................................................................ 19

4.4 Students Bio-Data ................................................................................................... 20

Table 4.6: Distribution by Class ................................................................................... 20

4.4.2 Distribution by Gender ........................................................................................ 20

4.4.3 Distribution by Age .............................................................................................. 20

4.5 Analysis of Respondents .................................................................................... 21

4.5.2 Administrators' Analysis ................................................................................ 24

4.5.3 Students Analysis ........................................................................................... 24

CHAPTER FIVE .............................................................................................................. 26

DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............................. 26

5.0 Overview ........................................................................................................... 26

APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE ............................................................................. 32