Three pupils deliver babies before KCPE exams kick off

By Standard Team

Three Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) candidates delivered few minutes before the exams kicked off.

The girls, who went to school in the morning for their papers, developed labour pains and delivered in the schools in Homa Bay District before writing the exam.

After delivery, the girls sat the papers and are now waiting for day two of the exams.

Confirming the incident, Homa Bay District Education Officer Margaret Lesuuda said: "They delivered in the morning and proceeded with the examinations and are awaiting tomorrow’s papers," she said

At the same time, five pregnant girls at Fumbini Primary School in Kilifi town sat KCPE on Tuesday.

Missing papers

According to Kilifi Township location Senior Chief Athman Matano, the five are among 14 candidates in the location said to be pregnant.

In a separate incident, candidates of Muslim Primary School in Rachuonyo North District delayed by around one hour before starting KCPE exams after seven papers for registered candidates were found missing.

The school that registered 37 candidates was shocked to realise that only 30 papers were packed in the envelop by the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC).

In Malindi and Magarini districts three people were arrested on Monday evening with fake KCPE examination papers.

On Tuesday, KNEC Deputy Secretary in charge of field operations Edah Muiruri said police and council officials laid a trap and a man was arrested with the papers.

"We have checked the papers and realised that they were all fake before handing over the suspect to the police," said Muiruri.

Also arrested with fake exam papers were a motorcycle operator and a secondary school student said to have been selling the papers to the candidates.

Informal institutions

At the same time, Coast PDE Tom Majani expressed disappointment at the case of 16 students who failed to sit for KCPE because they were enrolled in an informal institution.

"I do not understand why children should go to informal schools when there are many schools in the area," he said.

Inmates also sat this year’s KCPE, again. Nineteen prisoners at Kitale Remand Prison are among candidates sitting KCPE exams. At Shimo La Tewa Prison, 43 inmates sat KCPE.

Assistant Commissioner of Prisons Wanini Keriri said 38 men and five women were sitting the examination this year.

In Kisii seven inmates are among 8,694 candidates sitting KCPE examinations in Kisii District.

Kisii Prisons boss Patrick Aranduh said 14 prisoners had registered for the exams but seven had completed serving their sentences and were freed by Tuesday when the exams kicked off.

At the Kitui Prison, four former convicts missed the KCPE exams after they failed to turn up at the prison.

The four, who were released from custody last week after completion of their sentences, had registered for the exam. The prison’s officer-in-charge Esther Solomon said 11 inmates sat the examination at the facility.

At the Naivasha Prison, two inmates with an age difference of 58 years sat side by side for the KCPE exams. Joseph Kundu Nabwera, 74, who is serving life sentence for murder, and 16-year-old Kennedy Muthoo, who was jailed for ten years for defilement, joined 7,454 other candidates in Naivasha District sitting for the national exams.

At the Coast, the KNEC hired a helicopter to distribute KCPE papers after floods affected examination centres in parts of Malindi and Magarini. Coast PDE Tom Majani said there are 910 candidates from Malindi and Magarini put up at special examination centres due to heavy rains.

"The plane will be stationed in Malindi and will distribute exam papers to schools in Magarini and parts of Malindi," he said.

In Bahari over 400 candidates arrived from a secret hideout where they were confined following allegations that conmen were out to sell fake examination papers.

Secret location

According to Chasimba Ward councillor Boniface Mwango the candidates from eight public primary schools were hidden to concentrate on the exams.

Mr Mwango said the decision to confine the pupils in a secret location was reached during a stakeholders’ meeting.

In Gucha, seven candidates did not sit KCPE after it emerged they had not been registered.

The enraged candidates and their parents frog marched the proprietor of the school to Gucha DEO’s office before recording statements with police.

The parents said they had trusted the proprietor who also doubles as a pastor. "We kept asking about the index numbers. Pastor told us there was a spelling problem and that all details would be given during rehearsal," said a sobbing Mrs Moraa, a parent.

In Mt Elgon District, a candidate was prevented from sitting KCPE at a primary school. Sylvia Cherop of Elite Academy in Cheptais Division was sent home when her name was not found in the list of registered candidates.

Restrained

Her mother Mary Boiyo, later stormed the school and threatened to strip naked in protest, but security officers restrained her.

In Pokot Central pupils will be sitting for their papers in three centres due to insecurity and the rough terrain. But the Government ensured tight security in the larger Pokot and Turkana districts.

Rift Valley PDE Beatrice Adu said they had decided to converge the pupils in the three centres to make it easier to administer the exams.

"We noticed there would be transport challenges if we decided to take the exams to far flung schools with rough terrains," she added.

Mrs Adu said 15 IDP candidates who were moved from Nyandarua’s Mawingu camp to Rongai are sitting their exams at Gicheha Primary School.

— Reports by Nicholas Anyuor, Sam Otieno, Osinde Obare, Joseph Masha, Paul Gitau, Robert Nyasato, Kenan Miruka, Victor Mukele, Robert Wanyonyi, Paul Mutua and Antony Gitonga.