𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐊𝐂𝐒𝐄 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬

The Ministry of Education has expressed concern over a rising number of pregnant candidates sitting for this year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams.

Basic Education Principal Secretary (PS) Belio Kipsang revealed that this year, there has been an increase in cases of girls sitting for exams from hospitals after giving birth.

“We’ve witnessed many girls doing their exams from hospitals. This is a worrying trend that could have serious implications on female education in the future,” said Kipsang.

He attributed the rise in teenage pregnancies to societal issues, pointing out the failure of adults to protect young girls from early exposure to sex.

He also emphasized that many of these pregnancies are not caused by young boys but by adults, who are often the perpetrators.

“Our biggest problem is us adults, and if we resolve to protect the girl child, then we can eliminate this problem,” Kipsang added. He likened the issue to exam cheating, which he said is also often driven by adults who provide candidates with phones, share exam papers, or assist in cheating during exams.

PS Kipsang said they were on course in having adequate infrastructure in place for the commencement of Grade 9 education in January.

He said the Ministry, with the support of the government and development partners, was already in the process of delivering 11, 000 classrooms for children progressing to Grade 9.