- Examination malpractice has accounted for nearly 93 per cent of the 3,017 student discipline cases recorded in Kenyan universities in 2025.
- Public Chartered Universities have recorded a significantly higher expulsion rate of 9.6 per cent compared to just 0.5 per cent at Private Chartered Universities.
Examination malpractice remains by far the most common disciplinary problem facing Kenyan universities, making up nearly 93 per cent of all student discipline cases recorded in 2025, according to new data from the Commission for University Education (CUE).
Out of 3,017 student discipline cases submitted by 65 institutions through the University Education Management Information System (UEMIS), 2,803 involved examination irregularities. The remaining cases were spread across gross misconduct (154), theft, robbery, fraud and forgery (40), drug and substance abuse (12), gender-based violence (6), and breaches of hall and election rules (2).
Overall, the 2025 figures show a 10.2 per cent decline from the 3,361 cases recorded in 2024, drawn from institutions across all five university categories. Even so, the share of cases linked specifically to examination malpractice actually rose, climbing from 87.3 per cent in 2024 to 92.9 per cent in 2025. Common offences included cheating with unauthorised written materials, possession of electronic devices such as mobile phones during exams, impersonation, and sitting papers for units students were not registered for.
June recorded the highest number of cases at 481, followed by September with 364, May with 382 and January with 355, all corresponding with peak examination periods. “This seasonality confirms that discipline cases are predominantly driven by examination events and that preventive interventions: stricter venue supervision, randomised seating, and pre-examination device checks, have the potential to significantly reduce the overall caseload,” the report states.
Beyond exam-related offences, gross misconduct cases covered disorderly behaviour, failure to follow university rules and conduct bringing institutions into disrepute, with CUE recommending that such cases be handled through internal disciplinary panels guided by university statutes and the Universities Act.
The 40 cases involving theft, robbery, fraud and forgery included financial fraud, forged academic documents and property theft, prompting CUE to urge universities to maintain clear reporting channels and cooperate with law enforcement where criminal conduct is suspected.
On the 12 reported drug and substance abuse cases, CUE cautioned that the figure may understate the true scale of the problem due to challenges in detection and reporting, and encouraged universities to strengthen counselling, peer education and related policies. Similarly, the six reported gender-based violence (GBV) cases came with a warning against complacency.
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In terms of sanctions, fines were by far the most common outcome, applied in 1,953 cases, or 64.7 per cent of the total. Suspensions more than doubled, rising from 136 in 2024 to 304 in 2025, while cases falling under the “Other” sanctions category dropped sharply from 1,293 in 2023 to 562.
A clear divide emerged between public and private universities. Public Chartered Universities accounted for 1,992 cases, or 66 per cent of the total, and recorded an expulsion rate of 9.6 per cent, compared to 844 cases and a markedly lower expulsion rate of 0.5 per cent at Private Chartered Universities.
CUE said the gap could reflect differing offence patterns, but also cautioned that unusually low expulsion rates might point to institutional reluctance to impose severe sanctions due to concerns over student retention and tuition revenue.
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“The average expulsion rate of 6.6 per cent is itself a measure that requires contextualization: it means that approximately 1 in every 15 students who appear before a discipline panel is expelled. This is a consequential outcome with lasting effects on a student’s educational and employment prospects and underscores the importance of proportionate sanctioning, well-trained disciplinary panels, and accessible appeal mechanisms,” the report states.
CUE called for stronger examination controls, including randomised seating, device checks and signal suppression where legally permitted. It also recommended a review of sanctioning practices at private universities, improved reporting mechanisms for GBV and substance abuse cases, and the introduction of standard offence codes within UEMIS to improve the tracking and comparison of disciplinary cases across institutions.
By Masaki Enock
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