Uhuru asks parents not to exert pressure on candidates
What you need to know:
President Kenyatta said on Monday that parents should know people have different talents so they cannot be equal.
The Kenya National Examinations Council and the Ministry of Education raised the red flag over plans to cheat in some regions, ahead of the exams which began in high schools on Monday.
The president earlier told off educational commentators who claim security measures amount to militarisation of the education system, a state which they said may result in panic.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has pleaded with parents to stop exerting unnecessary pressure on children sitting the national examinations.
President Kenyatta said on Monday that parents should know people have different talents so they cannot be equal.
FREEDOM
"The best parents can do is wish their children the best in exams," he said, and warned them against helping their children to cheat in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) tests.
"Children should be set free and allowed to do the best they can."
Mr Kenyatta spoke at the New Kenya Cooperative Creameries Sotik Factory after commissioning milk processing machines.
The Kenya National Examinations Council and the Ministry of Education raised the red flag over plans to cheat in some regions, ahead of the exams which began in high schools on Monday.
The president also hit out at youthful leaders holding positions to do with service delivery, saying they have failed him and the nation.
He said they have failed in their mandates and are leading in corruption.
"Their work cannot be seen. Aged leaders have often delivered," he said and challenged youths to seize opportunities that will help them prove that they can do the same.
TIGHT SECURITY
The exams started amid mixed reactions to tight security steps that the government took to curb cheating.
The president earlier told off educational commentators who claim the measures amount to militarisation of the education system, a state which they said may result in panic.
He warned parents and teachers against compromising the honour of Kenya’s national examinations.
“Where does a child get Sh100,000 to pay for a stolen exam? It must be their parents who are paying," he said at a fundraising and commissioning of the construction of the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) Kapsabet Plaza, Nandi County.
