It’s all systems go as pupils begin their KCPE exams
What you need to know:
- In Wajir, seven examination centres have been relocated due to flooding. Education Director Hussein Osman said most of the affected schools are in Buna and Bute in Wajir North.
- Turkana County Education Director Peter Magiri confirmed that a helicopter will be used to supply examination materials to schools that cannot be accessed by road.
Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) rehearsals run smoothly Monday even as the Ministry of Education sought to allay fears that the exam may be disrupted by the ongoing rains, which have caused floods in various parts of the country.
Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang toured several examination centres ahead of the exams, which start Tuesday.
Candidates will sit the mathematics and English papers in the morning and write English composition in the afternoon.
Dr Kipsang said regional directors reported smooth progress. “They have been engaging with centre managers, supervisors, sub-county directors and assistant county directors and security officers and ensured there are no challenges,” he said.
A Nation survey showed all was set for the exams. Eight inmates from Homa Bay GK Prison will be among the more than one million candidates sitting this year’s examinations.
INJURED CANDIDATE
Homa Bay County Commissioner Harman Shambi said the inmates are among 31,176 KCPE candidates in the county.
He added that measures have been put in place to ensure that expectant candidates who go into labour during the exams are taken to hospital. Last year, several candidates delivered during the examination period.
In Ahero, a candidate at Kasuna Primary who sustained severe burns on his hands after he was reportedly assaulted by his stepmother will sit his exams in a hospital ward. The boy was attacked for allegedly stealing a mobile phone.
“We are working to see that he does the examinations peacefully,” said Kisumu County Director of Education Isaac Atebe.
Meanwhile, 10 candidates at Emmaus Academy in Obunga, Kisumu, were sent home Monday morning to get Sh1,000 for their lunch during the examination period.
FLOODS
Ms Beatrice Osumba, a parent, said her son was among those sent home to collect the money. “As a parent, I’m disappointed with the school administration. How could they send pupils home a day before the national examinations?”
In Vihiga, county Director of Education Hellen Nyang’au noted that no school or road has been damaged by the ongoing rains.
In Siaya, Education Director Joseph Wamocho said: “Transport, security and every other thing is in place, with a multiagency team ready to monitor the exercise.”
He warned teachers and supervisors against engaging in malpractices.
In Wajir, seven examination centres have been relocated due to flooding. Education Director Hussein Osman said most of the affected schools are in Buna and Bute in Wajir North.
SECURITY
Two helicopters have been deployed to the region to help in distributing examination materials.
In Mandera County, one helicopter has been provided to transport papers to examination centres in areas that have been cut off by floods and those that experience frequent bandit attacks.
In Marsabit, most roads in Moyale have been completely cut off, forcing candidates whose centres were relocated to travel more than 60km to sit the exams.
In the Coast region, police officers have been deployed to ensure safety for 88,122 candidates.
Coast Regional Coordinator John Elungata said adequate security measures have been taken.
In Mombasa, 28 candidates from two private schools have been forced to sit the exams at other centres as the schools cannot be accessed due to mud.
PUPILS RELOCATED
Turkana County Education Director Peter Magiri confirmed that a helicopter will be used to supply examination materials to schools that cannot be accessed by road.
He noted that 60 candidates from Erait Academy and 20 from Riverside Academy, which were affected by floods, have been relocated to Komboni Primary and Lodwar Mixed, respectively.
In Elgeyo-Marakwet, motorcycles will be used to distribute examinations materials to areas inaccessible by vehicles.
In Baringo, County Commissioner Henry Wafula confirmed that security measures have been taken to ensure that pupils in the banditry-prone areas of Baringo North and South sit the exams without interruption.
By Faith Nyamai, George Odiwuor, Elizabeth Ojina, Benson Ayienda, Derick Luvega, Dickens Wasonga, Shaban Makokha, Lucy Mkanyika, Siago Cece, Fadhili Fredrick, Winnie Atieno, Manase Otsialo, Jacob Walter, Flora Koech, Evans Kipkura, Sammy Lutta and Regina Kinogu
