By Vincent Mabatuk and Rawlings Otieno
Kenya: Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi has warned KCPE candidates against cheating.
The CS told candidates to be wary of unscrupulous people who might want to tempt them to cheat, noting that the vice may jeopardise their chances of passing exams.
He told learners that they have the brains and intelligence to sit and pass examinations without outside help and should therefore not be misled into cheating.
“I urge you to walk into examination halls with the same confidence you have had over the years,” said Kaimenyi, yesterday in Nairobi.
Elsewhere, former President Daniel Moi has called for expansion of learning institutions to cater for increasing learners’ population.
Speaking at Kabarak University during a prayer day for KCPE candidates yesterday, Moi said it was time to expand institutions to accommodate more learners.
Moi said it was worrying that the population is increasing rapidly yet there are few schools being established to provide quality education.
He said the 844,530 candidates sitting for exams from tomorrow will not be a small number compared to the available places in secondary schools. “This young people should be allowed to proceed with their academics unobstructed in their pursuit for knowledge,” reiterated Moi.
He noted that Kenya’s population is constantly rising, from seven million in 1963 to 40 million. Next year, he noted thousands of Standard Eight leavers will be fighting for few slots in secondary schools, which calls for building of new institutions.
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Moi urged KCPE candidates to withstand life temptations and strive to excel in their lives. He wished all candidates across the country success in KCPE examinations and in life.
Baringo County Woman Representative Grace Kiptui and Kabarak High School chief principal Henry Kiplagat accompanied him. Meanwhile, the Government will spend Sh200million to buy sanitary pads for disadvantaged girls in primary schools.
Education ministry has already identified 678,770 vulnerable girls in 9,161 schools drawn from 165 districts to benefit from the initiative.
Kaimenyi made the announcement in a speech read on his behalf by acting Director of Administration in the Ministry of Education E. Khaoya during launch of the National Sanitary Towels School Programme at Loboso Primary School, in Marigat Baringo County.
The launch was presided over by the First Lady Margaret Kenyatta.
Several organisations, among them African Cotton Industries, helped organise the vent dubbed Inua Dada. The First Lady expressed concern that a million girls miss at least four days of schooling every month due to periods. “As a result, they lose up to one and a half months of pupil/teacher contact time,” she noted.
