Uhuru Kenyatta surprises Westlands Primary KCPE candidates

President Uhuru Kenyatta at Westlands Primary School, Nairobi County, on November 1, 2017. He made a surprise visit to the candidates and asked them to perform well in their KCPE exam. PHOTO | PSCU

What you need to know:

  • Mr Kenyatta and Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i inspected the examination materials during his surprise visit.
  • The excited pupils and teachers crowded around the President as he shook their hands.
  • He assured the pupils of free secondary education from next year.

President Uhuru Kenyatta brightened the day for Westlands Primary School KCPE exam candidates when he paid them a surprise visit ahead of their exams on Wednesday morning.

Mr Kenyatta and Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i inspected the examination materials and process.

EXCITED

The excited pupils and teachers crowded around the President as he shook their hands in a picture shared through his social media pages.

Other photos of him addressing the school, inspecting exam materials and talking to the pupils as they waited for their exam papers at their desks, were also put up on the Internet.

“We have done everything we can to ensure that your exams are going to be done in an orderly and transparent manner so that every single child in Kenya has an equal opportunity,” said the President.

Mr Kenyatta urged the pupils to perform well in their exams and assured them of free secondary education next year.

BACKLASH

The Twitter post wishing the candidates success in their examinations received backlash from Kenyans.

Atwolism‏ @joskyaura posted, “What a role model, cheating is legit.”

Mogeni Innocent.‏ @mogeniinocent was concerned about the nurses on strike and posted: “Nurses still on STRIKE! Day 150…”

Matukoweye‏ @Matukoweye1 asked Mr Kenyatta where the promised Jubilee laptops for primary schools were.

“These kids will get 507 as their mean score,” said Hassan Hadji‏ @ChrissBrownFan.

FANS

The President however had a few fans.

Another Kenya‏ @AnotherKenya wished the pupils success in their exams. He tweeted: “All the best...BUT Do NOT cheat in the exams. It’s wrong!”

TonnyYoung‏ @Tonny_Young001 replied, “Absolutely Mr President-Elect!”