NAIROBI, OCTOBER 29, 2019 (CISA)-Over one million candidates across the country have today, October 29, began their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations.
The national exams started amid fears of flooding in parts of the country due to ongoing heavy rains.
The government has deployed police helicopters to transport examination papers to examination centers in Mandera, wajir, Tana River and Isiolo, areas hit by the ongoing floods.
“The government will also provide off-road vehicles to areas with poor road network to ease movement of those manning the exercise,” said Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary Belio Kipsang.
The Cabinet Minister of Education Prof George Magoha had earlier directed that “the process of opening examination papers in examination rooms must be witnessed by candidates, security forces, an invigilator and a supervisor to ensure that no mistake is made. This is meant to address cases where officials open scripts before the scheduled time.”
The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has contracted professionals – including 1,437 deputy county commissioners, sub-county directors of education and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
The Teachers Service Commission has further licensed 28,000 school heads to act as center managers during examinations in addition to 173,000 teachers who have been assigned to officiate the examinations.
A total of 1,088,986 candidates are registered to sit for the KCPE examinations in 27,809 centers across the country.
