At least 248 pregnant candidates to sit for national exams in Narok
A total of 741 girls in primary and secondary schools in Narok county are confirmed pregnant, statistics from its education department show
At least 248 primary and secondary school candidates in Narok County will sit the upcoming national examinations.
A total of 741 girls in primary and secondary schools in the county are confirmed pregnant, statistics from its education department show.
Of that number, 332 are from primary schools and 409 from secondary schools.
Of the 741 pregnancies, 140 are Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and 108 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates.
Narok South sub-county leads in the number of teen pregnancies with 149, followed by Narok Central with 140.
Others are Narok West (124), Transmara West (81), Narok East (66), Transmara South (67), Narok North (60) and Transmara East (54).
Some 36,782 pupils in Grade Six, 33,980 in Standard Eight and 12,444 in secondary school will sit this year's national examinations in the county.
More boys than girls will sit the three examinations, said Narok Education Officer Antony Makori.
He attributed the disparity to teenage pregnancies and female genital mutilation that force girls to drop out of school.
Some 18,954 boys and 17,828 girls will sit the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment for Grade Six pupils, he said.
Meanwhile, 17,284 boys and 16,700 girls will sit the KCPE exam.
Some 6,353 boys and 6,054 girls will sit the KCSE exam.
Mr Makori said his office is prepared to handle candidates who go into labour during exams and will ensure that they complete the tests.
“We have data on all the pregnant candidates and we will be closely monitoring them during the exam period to ensure that all goes smoothly,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (Kerra) has embarked on rehabilitating dilapidated roads in the county ahead of the national examinations.
Speaking in Narok, Kerra engineer Charles Kwena said the agency has awarded contracts for road repairs intended to improve mobility during the examinations period.
“All impassable roads will be repaired in the next one week to ensure that there is smooth transportation of the examination materials,” Mr Kwena pledged.
Narok County Commissioner Isaac Masinde reiterated that all preparations have been made for the examinations.
He said the exams will be closely monitored and any candidate found trying to cheat will be disciplined accordingly.
"Security personnel … have already been slated and we expect no hitches," Mr Masinde said.
