05/11/2025
HOW SCHOOLS ARE $TEALING KCSE.
By Mr Sam VIDAMBU.
They say the rich are arrogant, the poor are ignorant and the middle class are confident. They also say that if it looks like a dog, walks like a dog and barks like a dog, it is a dog.
Lion is king, gazelle is shy, hyena is hated and warthog is ugly. Did you know that when united, hyenas can take lion's food and the lion can do nothing about it?. So, who is the real king of the jungle?
You will not understand this article unless you read it to the end.
How do schools cheat in KCSE? Before we know how, we should expound on why. They cheat because of pressure from everywhere. The county director want results, subcounty too, the parents, the sponsor is on the neck, the surrounding community and also the board. Some heads have been rejected, disowned and even doubted and the only way to relieve themselves is by good results. The teachers want career progression. The students want to go to campus. The parents want to see their kids going to institutions of higher learning by all means. Expectations are extremely high.
Cheating doesn't happen overnight. Collusion doesn't just take place at the container.
Cheating begins from form one. Cheating is strategic and cheating is expensive.
The first step is covering the syllabus on time. These schools know that academic results require academic cultures and the academic cultures are formulated from academic systems. These schools have a culture called 3.6.9.1.4.7.10.2.5.8.1.4. This is a system which they use to ensure they cover form four syllabus by the time students are finishing form four term one i.e April of the fourth year. Teachers know that before cheating happens, teaching must happen. The schools that do well always clear syllabus early. These schools know that syllabus coverage should be distributed equally from form one going forward. They know how to work with numbers. They are consistent. They are organised. They are prepared.
As teachers consistently cover syllabus, the students have programs to help them comprehend it. They have weekend Rapid Tests after every fortnight. In this tests the teachers test the students on everything that has been taught the last two weeks. The tests go for one hour per subject and they are out of 45marks. On Saturday they do from 6:00PM to 10:00PM. On Sunday they do from 6PM to 10PM again. Those are eight hours for eight subjects, including the blocked ones. These tests help students to know how questions are phrased from the learning areas and lesson objectives. The parents are involved in every academic aspect by supporting the school programs.
During normal preps time in the morning and evening these schools have a common organized study timetable where students study the same topic, the same subject, at the same time. This heps the students to develop academic behavior, enhance team work and promote reading culture. They have preps management team who's role is to ensure the students have correct study habits. They also have something called Evening Daycare and organized monitored group discussions.
The focus is on content right from day one in form one. They emphasise on content mastery, content retention and content delivery. The students know that even if they are given the real exam leakage two hours before KCSE, if they never mastered the content they will still fail.
The students know that repetition is the mother of retention. These students know of this one teacher who doesn't come to class carrying any reference material. They know that the same teacher has been teaching for over 20 years. The level of content retention of that teacher on his first year of teaching is not the same level of content retention on his 20th year of teaching. The more someone studies something the more they retain the content. The students formulate a worksheet called studybook that tracks their progress in terms of number of times they have studied each topic right from form one to form four.
When syllabus has been completed, these schools embark on serious, intensive and high octane revision. They follow a revision model that involves studying, assessing and revising in a cyclical manner. The subject teachers focus on Progressive Increase in Syllabus Understanding Percentage. The teachers are motivated well while the students are turbocharged. The students don't fear exams while teachers do not hate marking.
The board makes realistic promises, the teachers are committed, the parents support school programs, the students are positive. Everything works, everything flows. Unity of purpose.
Does it look like a dog? Does it walk like a dog? Does it bark like a dog? So, is it a dog?
It will work if only you work it.
By Mr Sam VIDAMBU (0743 480435).
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To God Be The Glory.
Vidambu is a professional academic mentor with over 5,500 high schools in Kenya running his academic programs.
His Academic Mentorship Programs are about content mastery skills, content retention techniques, content delivery approaches, proper revision strategies, proven reading cultures, practical study habits, instensive revision tactics, sustainable academic systemes, among other great topics.
He is a Trainer of Principals during KESSHA conferences and teachers.
He is the President of Global Student Mentorship Center, He is an author, and a Tutor.
To Have Vidambu launch the Candidates Academic Mentorship Programs in your school and be a Class Mentor kindly call/text/whatsapp 0743480435 (Sam Vidambu).
He has physical individualised holiday programs. To mentor your child on academic excellence whatsapp him 0743 480435.
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