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ASSESSMENT OF PREVALENCE OF EXAMINATION MALPRACTICES AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MALE AND FEMALE STUDENTS IN UNIVERSITIES IN MT. KENYA REGION.

Abstract The widespread manifestation of examination malpractices in universities is of critical concern to the education stakeholders in Kenya and globally. Despite stringent measures put in place to curb the vice, students continue to engage in examination irregularities in Kenya and the world. Objectives of the study were; to assess the status of prevalence of examination malpractices among university students in the Mt Kenya region; and to evaluate the levels of prevalence of examination malpractices between male and female students in universities in the Mount Kenya region. The study was informed by the ethical theory. Descriptive research design was used. Kathuri and Pals’ sampling table was used to sample 380 students who participated. Data was collected using questionnaires. Cronbach Alpha Coefficient was calculated to establish the reliability of the instrument which yielded r=0.79 which was considered reliable. Experts from the department of education validated the questionnaire. Data was analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. Results showed that carrying unauthorized materials (50.4%), copying of answers (49.6%) and giraffing (50%) were the most prevalent forms of examination malpractices, university examination systems were not hacked (81.7%) and students did not get leakages as indicated by 84.5% of respondents. The t-test yielded a p -value of 0.720 against the theoretical p = 0.05.  The null hypothesis was accepted (at α =0.05). There was no mean differences in the engagement of male and female students in examination malpractices.  The study concluded that there was need for policy makers to strengthen vigilance during examinations in universities.