The fate of thousands of students in banditry-prone regions still hangs in the balance even as the Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) prepares to administer school leaving tests this year.
The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams kick off tomorrow and will end in November 22 while the Kenya Primary Schools Education Assessment (KPSEA) test will be administered between October 28 and November 1, according to Knec boss David Njengere. A total of 965,501 KCSE candidates will sit for the exams in 10,755 centres while 1,313,913 candidates will do their KPSEA (Grade Six) exams in 32,573 centres.
Education stakeholders have called on the government to ensure that teachers and learners in banditry hotspots in the North Rift region are safe.
Counties affected by the cycle of banditry attacks include Baringo, Samburu, Turkana, Tana River, Laikipia, Isiolo, Wajir, Mandera, Garissa, Elgeyo Marakwet, Lamu, and West Pokot. Most candidates did not sit their KCPE and KPSEA exams in the North Rift region last year.
“Schools with more than 400 learners have repeatedly been attacked by al-Shabaab militants from Somalia,” Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Lamu County Executive Secretary Ibrahim Sheekue Shahibu said.
Knut Secretary-General Collins Oyuu and First National Vice-Chairman Malel Langat have called on the government to curb insecurity to enable schools resume operations.
“In some of the counties affected by banditry, we have had to postpone annual branch meetings due to insecurity. With exams set to kick off, it is important for the government to beef up security,” Mr Oyuu said. On his part, Mr Langat, during Knut’s Thika branch annual general meeting on Saturday, expressed concern that most schools had been rendered inaccessible a month after the institutions re-opened for the third term.
"The most affected regions are in Coast, North Rift and North Eastern regions. This is a matter that the government needs to address urgently," Mr Langat said.
“Will the children learning in the affected areas be expected to sit the same exams with those in peaceful zones and be ranked equally?” the unionist posed.
Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) Secretary-General Omboko Milemba said teachers should be assured of their security by the government as they oversee the administration of the exams.
Mr Sigey Bett, a Nairobi-based lawyer, said it was the responsibility of the government to provide security to all Kenyans.
“That the government has failed to curb banditry and has had to resort to military intervention calls for a change in approach,” Mr Bett said.
During celebrations to mark the World Teachers Day in Nakuru on October 5, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migosi Ogambo had said the government was committed to ensuring that learners sat their exams unmolested.
“The government will provide adequate security to invigilators, supervisors, institution administrators and learners in the affected zones,” Mr Ogambo said.
His Interior counterpart, Prof Kithure Kindiki (now the Deputy President designate) said the government was building new schools, equipping them, and posting enough teachers.
“We will ensure that there is uninterrupted learning in schools in the affected regions,” he said.
Knut National Trustee Dan Oloo, who was flanked by National Executive Council members Ali Ng’ang’a and Bashir Kilalo, said it was unfortunate that, even against the backdrop of insecurity challenges, teachers deployed to schools in Boni Forest were being threatened with the sack by the Teachers Service Commission.
