- CUE data shows3,017 university disciplinary cases in 2025, with 92.9 per cent involving examination irregularities.
- Attitudes towards academic dishonesty are shaped long before university, shaped by early messaging about grades over genuine learning.
- Universities should strengthen integrity systems, diversify assessment methods, and society should broaden its definition of success beyond examination scores.
The 3,000 university disciplinary cases should prompt us to examine what our education system and society teach about integrity. Data from the Commission for University Education (CUE) shows that 65 universities reported 3,017 student disciplinary cases in 2025. Of these, 2,803, or 92.9 per cent, involved examination irregularities, including possession of unauthorised materials and electronic devices, impersonation and sitting examinations for units students had not registered for.
These figures should not be dismissed as another set of disciplinary statistics. They should prompt a deeper question: what kind of citizens is our education system preparing? The figures demonstrate that universities are dealing with examination offences, but they also invite us to look beyond the examination hall and examine the attitudes towards success, competition and integrity that learners encounter throughout their educational journey.
University students do not suddenly discover examination malpractice when they enter higher education. Attitudes towards learning and achievement are shaped over many years. From an early age, learners can receive the message that the final mark matters more than the process of acquiring knowledge. In some schools, intense preparation for examinations can leave limited room for curiosity, creativity and independent learning. Where academic performance becomes the dominant measure of success, the temptation to seek shortcuts may grow.
The problem becomes more serious when adults send contradictory messages. If a learner sees cheating overlooked in an internal examination, hears a parent ask for special treatment, or watches an adult circumvent rules for personal advantage, the lesson may be more powerful than any classroom lecture on integrity. We should therefore be cautious about treating university examination malpractice as a problem that begins at university; by then, some attitudes may already be firmly established.
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The challenge also raises questions about institutions. Universities have a responsibility to maintain credible examination systems through proper registration, adequate invigilation, effective academic advising, secure assessment procedures and accurate examination records. Strong systems do not eliminate individual wrongdoing, but they can reduce opportunities for irregularities and strengthen accountability. The same principle applies lower down the education system, where teachers are expected to nurture honesty, yet work in an environment where examination results attract considerable attention from parents, school boards and communities. The pressure to perform should never become a justification for unethical conduct, but the education sector must also ask whether its definition of success gives sufficient weight to learning, character, creativity and competence alongside examination results.
There is also a broader societal dimension. Kenya has increasingly become a certificate-conscious society. Qualifications are important, but a certificate cannot substitute for competence, character and practical ability. When credentials become the principal measure of a person’s worth, some young people may feel enormous pressure to obtain them, sometimes at the expense of the values education is supposed to cultivate.
The cost of examination malpractice goes beyond a cancelled paper or disciplinary hearing. The first cost is competence. Consider professions such as medicine, engineering and teaching, where inadequate knowledge can have consequences beyond the individual graduate. A qualification obtained without genuine mastery of the required knowledge and skills can undermine public confidence and, in some professions, create risks for those who depend on professional services.
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The second cost is character. Education is not simply about passing examinations. It is also about preparing people to make responsible decisions when nobody is watching. If learners repeatedly encounter situations in which results appear to matter more than honesty, the moral purpose of education is weakened.
The third cost is credibility. Kenya has made significant efforts to expand access to higher education, and that progress must be accompanied by confidence in the quality and credibility of qualifications. If employers lose confidence in academic records, they may increasingly rely on additional tests and other forms of screening, which could disadvantage graduates who have earned their qualifications honestly. This is why examination integrity should concern more than universities; it concerns employers, parents, teachers, policymakers and society as a whole.
Reversing the problem will require more than stern warnings during examination periods. First, institutions should continue exploring assessment methods that test genuine understanding rather than dependence on memorisation alone. Practical projects, oral presentations, portfolios, supervised assignments and problem-solving tasks can complement examinations and give learners more opportunities to demonstrate competence.
Second, universities need strong integrity systems. Secure registration procedures, appropriate invigilator-to-student ratios, reliable examination records, effective academic advising and appropriate use of technology can make it more difficult to manipulate assessment processes.
Third, society must broaden its definition of success. Parents should be encouraged to ask not only “what did you score?” but also “what did you learn?” and “what can you do with what you have learned?” Schools, universities and their governing bodies should similarly recognise that educational success involves more than mean scores and first-class degrees. Retention, innovation, practical competence, ethical conduct and the ability to solve real-world problems also matter.
Most importantly, adults must model the values they expect young people to embrace. A learner who repeatedly sees dishonesty rewarded or rules selectively applied may struggle to understand why examination integrity suddenly becomes sacred during national or university examinations. Integrity cannot be confined to an examination timetable; it has to become part of everyday life.
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The 3,017 disciplinary cases reported by CUE should therefore prompt reflection beyond the students who were caught. They offer an opportunity to examine the wider environment in which young people learn what success means and how it should be achieved. The students found with unauthorised materials in examination rooms are responsible for their choices, but their choices also challenge educators, parents and society to examine the messages we send about achievement.
If we want graduates who value competence, honesty and responsibility, those values must be visible throughout the education journey. The price of cheating is not merely a cancelled examination. It is the gradual erosion of trust in the people we educate and the qualifications we award. That is a price worth preventing.
By Astiba Kebong’o
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