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Have you ever spared a thought on the plight of teachers during this busy period that is quite moping which entails being clobbered with these dreaded invigilation duties. Ideally, even pros get pococurante and need to ease up because two hours or more is not a joke. It’s our job to act as invigilators for these exams as teachers. As an invigilator you must keep vigil which you find yourself not capable of continuously instead invigilators must be busy patrolling, on the lookout for any crib-sheets hidden away.
After ten minutes, you feel that hour will never end, for sure its galling. You’ve counted the
number of left-handers in the room (not many though), checked out all the latest Kenyan chics
fashions in footwear and in dressing and hairstyle but again, that never lasts. Again, you sometimes find yourself checking on that ka supu student who caught your eye, however, concentration on her fully isnot easy.
What to do? Well, requests for extra paper are one welcome way of
alleviating the tedium or breaking away from building castles in the air of some uncouth thoughts in the mind. I’ve seen teachers rush to be the first to hand
out more paper when the hands go up, you can imagine they are excited kids. Anything that breaks the monotony.
But that’s out of the question. What with cheating such a constant
concern (I read many posts on the topic, “The most elaborate ways to cheat in your exams” but still never nabbed a student cheating. Say I am not hawkish),
invigilators are under fierce instructions to be “on the lookout for
illegal practice at all times"
Obviously, you can never stay too long in the exam room without thinking something sinister. Ideally, nabbing a student on the act is a skill that you need to have horned or knew in the event you engaged in the same. However, it may not be easy. It is all has to do with guesswork.
A real bonus and blessing is when a candidate needs the loo. This means
someone has to accompany them (in case it’s a ruse to cheat). That, in
turn, means you can escape into the fresh air for a precious few
minutes.
But the real menace is when a phone rings, those that are cacophonous and break the virgin silence of papers chuckling and the thought process of those ruminating of the best plausible answers which unfortunately may be wrong. This is also a leeway that aids in escaping from the exam doldrums that are quite real as an invigilator.
Worst of all, is when you’re left totally stranded in the exam hall.
It’s happened to me once or twice, when invigilating on my own and is an
awful feeling. No one cares, no one comes. You’ve been totally
forgotten: left until the exam ends. And you are required to stand watching over students as if they are some delinquents under incarceration, you being a warder only that this time, you either have to be on Facebook or whatsapp or create a spurious call for which you can evade the humdrum of standing in isolation because your can't engage in any form of banter.
Such times, you need to create an activity, and if possible, your phone acts like the notepad to note those students who are laughing at flies, those who are so blank they cannot pen anything because their minds have refused the task of easing their future life by passing exams.
