Exam season is here with us and the stakes are high! The state is not playing with y'all. If your kid cheats, you're taking a fall too. *Gasp* All your academic achievements will count for nada.  They've hired some badass cops to secure those papers and all these outlandish exam penalties they've set got us thinking...what the fuss?? Why are exams in Kenya a matter of life & death? 8 years of school boils down to 3 days of exams?? 4 years of high school boils down to 3 weeks of exams?  I don't get it! What if your kid gets terribly sick? Or something happens at home and they can't ace the big exam. Do all their efforts over the years not count for anything? Are three days really enough to gauge a child's academic aptitude?  So no one at the Ministry of Education has thought of Continuous assessment.  Anyone?We were taught that getting into uni and getting an 'acceptable' degree was the only way to go and anything else was akin to failure. No pressure.  Now  kids want to get good grades at all costs even if it means cheating.I appreciate officials wanting to make everything authentic and prevent cheating but having armed cops looking down at our kids while they write about their Dog for English paper two is a bit too much.We need to have an open discourse on this. Matter of fact, take our poll. Chime in here. *Is your kid sitting for their big exam this year? What do you think of KCPE & KCSE? Write to maureen@kenyabuzz.com Photos: Courtesy