Final year exam candidates to get free sanitary towels
Sanitary towels. This year's final examination candidates will receive free pads, thanks to a donation by the US Army.
What you need to know:
- Principal Secretary for Basic Education Julius Jwan, has announced that female candidates in this year's final exam will receive free sanitary towels.
- He warned education field officers against selling the towels or failing to give them to the girls.
All the girls sitting national examinations from this month, will receive free sanitary pads from the government during the examinations period.
They include candidates who are in Grade Six, Class Eight and Form Four.
The Principal Secretary for Basic Education Julius Jwan, made the announcement when he received a donation of more than two million packets of sanitary towels donated by the US Army. The event was held at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Design.
Last year, the US Army donated more than 600,000 sanitary towels for use by candidates.
“We know the difficulty we have, across the country, right now caused by the drought. It started with Covid-19 and now the Ukraine war, making life difficult for everybody. This donation wouldn’t have come at a better time to help our girls so that during the examinations, they’re at peace with themselves,” Dr Jwan said.
Three million candidates
He warned education field officers against selling the towels or failing to give them to the girls.
Period poverty has been a challenge to many girls who skip school during their menses. There are more than three million candidates this year, with about a half of them being girls.
The donation was presented by representatives from the US led by the USAid Deputy Mission Director for Kenya and East Africa Bert Ubamadu.
A 2017 amendment to the Basic Education Act mandates the government to provide free sanitary pads to girls in public schools who need them. This is in order to enhance access to education by all girls.
The first cohort of the competency-based curriculum (CBC) will undertake the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) ahead of their transition to junior secondary school (JSS) in January next year.
The rehearsal is scheduled for Friday, November 25, 2022 while the assessment takes place from Monday, November 28, to Wednesday, November 30, 2022.
The assessment will run concurrently with the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations for candidates in Class Eight.
This is the second last KCPE examination, with the last 8-4-4 cohort set to complete primary school studies next year.
The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination will begin Friday December 2, 2022 and run until December 23, 2022.
