Police Speak On Examiner Caught On CCTV Stealing Clothes At Alliance Girls

Police have dismissed reports that indicated that a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examiner at Alliance Girls High School stole clothes at the exam marking centre as captured on CCTV.

The female examiner was alleged to have stolen clothes that included face towels, innerwear and blouses as captured in the footage dated Thursday, January 5.

Speaking to Citizen Digital, Kikuyu OCPD Catherine Ringera revealed that police visited the institution after the footage went viral on Thursday, January 12 and after they received the reports, only to discover that the matter was misreported from the clip.

According to Ringera, the examiner captured on the video had mistakenly picked her colleague’s garment while collecting hers from the clothesline.

An image of a CCTV camera. /FILE

The owner of the clothing that was mistakenly picked then went to report the matter to the school management, who reviewed the footage to confirm who picked off the missing attire.

The examiner responsible was then asked to produce the clothes she picked from the lines and had indeed turned out to have picked her colleague's attire. She surrendered back the clothing and the matter was resolved.

Police after visiting the school on January 12 were informed of what transpired and went on to dismiss the theft allegations. Ringera further noted that no one had been arrested or asked to record a statement on the incident as initially reported.

Examiners have recently been in the headlines for controversial reasons as the marking of the 2022 KCSE exams draws to a close, as well as the release of the results.

Those at St Francis Mang'u Girls High School went on strike on Tuesday, January 10, claiming that they were being subjected to poor working conditions and low pay, a matter which stopped the marking exercise indefinitely.

The examiners who were marking the Christian Religious Education (CRE) paper at the time the strike kicked off had complained that the centre's chief examiner introduced punitive policies that significantly slowed down the examinations' marking process.

The teachers who spoke to the media also lamented that they received lower pay than their colleagues who were marking Kiswahili papers. According to the examiners, they received Ksh55 for every CRE paper marked compared to their colleagues getting Ksh78 for every Kiswahili paper that they mark.

As a result, the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) agreed to replace the Chief Examiner as a compromise to ensure the smooth progress of the marking exercise.

"Unfortunately, despite responding to their initial demand, a few of the examiners yet again came up with a fresh call that the marking fee be revised upwards. Since the issue of the examiner's marking fee is an individual contract and agreed to before reporting to a centre, the Council found it impossible to find an extra budget to revise the rates midway.

"The Council, therefore, resolved to allow the examiners who were willing to continue with the marking process to do so uninterrupted. Equally, those who wished to exit the marking exercise were allowed to do so without causing further interruptions to the process. In the meantime, the Council has invited trained examiners from its database to ensure the smooth progress of the exercise," KNEC stated in part.

Entrance to St Francis Girls High School, Mang'u. /FACEBOOK