KCSE exams delayed for hours as key goes missing in Ndia
What you need to know:
Candidates from schools in the zone were supposed to start writing their tests at 8am but were kept waiting for three hours.
They were supposed top sit for Agriculture Paper 2, Agriculture Large Print Paper 2 and Agriculture Braille Paper 2, according to the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) timetable.
- County education officials learnt the keys were missing in the morning and rushed to Baricho, the Kirinyaga West Sub-County administration headquarters.
The ongoing Form Four exams were delayed for hours on Monday in Ndia, Kirinyaga County, after the keys to the container used to store the test papers went missing.
Candidates from schools in the zone were supposed to start writing their tests at 8am but were kept waiting for three hours.
DUPLICATE KEYS
They were supposed top sit for Agriculture Paper 2, Agriculture Large Print Paper 2 and Agriculture Braille Paper 2, according to the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) timetable.
County education officials learnt the keys were missing in the morning and rushed to Baricho, the Kirinyaga West Sub-County administration headquarters, to find a solution.
They looked for the keys everywhere in vain before calling Knec headquarters in Nairobi for direction.
It was then that Knec officials brought duplicate keys and opened the container.
Kirinyaga County Quality Assurance and Standards officer Maina Ngunjiri confirmed that the keys had been misplaced.
LOCK REPLACED
"[The] keys of the container could not be traced and we had to inform Knec, which responded [promptly]. The Knec has also replaced the container's lock with a new one to ensure there will be no leakage of the examination," he said.
Mr Ngunjiri, however, could not disclose the name of the official who had the keys before they got lost.
He said although there was a delay, the candidates sat for their examinations without further hitches.
"After the container was opened, the papers were ferried to various centres and [the] examination went on smoothly," he said, adding that there was "no cause for alarm".
LOCK JAMMED
Earlier, the Kirinyaga West Deputy County Commissioner Samuel Mwati had given a different account of the mishap.
He said the delay was caused when the lock jammed as the container was being opened to remove the test papers for distribution.
"The lock jammed, leading to the delay to transport papers to various examination centres," he said
Sources told Nation.co.ke that tension ran high at Ndia exam centres as news went round that the candidates may not sit for their tests due to lack of keys.
"There was panic among the candidates and the examination supervisors after the keys got lost in mysterious circumstances," the sources said.
