The Ministry of Education has distributed additional national examination containers to Counties across the country.
For instance, West Pokot County has received six more storage containers.
The move is part of efforts to uphold the integrity and security of national examinations across the nation.
According to West Pokot County Director of Education Simon Wamae, the distribution of more exam containers to the region is designed to enhance the security, storage and facilitate distribution of examination materials, ensuring their safety.
Wamae said the current initiatives undertaken by the ministry seek to maintain the integrity of national examinations and rebuild trust in the examination process among students, parents, and educators.
“By increasing the number of containers, the ministry aims to enhance the management of exam materials, which can help mitigate the potential for irregularities such as cheating and leakage of examination questions,” Wamae said.
He said another reason for the distribution of the containers to West Pokot was due to the introduction of revised regulations requiring examination papers to be collected twice daily, rather than the customary once a day.
Wamae said exams done in the morning would be collected in the morning at the designated containers throughout the county, while the papers scheduled for the afternoon sessions would be collected later in the afternoon.
“The reason as to why these containers have been added is because of the introduction of two sessions where principals are supposed to collect the exams in the morning and afternoon,” Wamae said.
He said the ministry has made a careful allocation of containers within the region, ensuring each Subcounty has access to secure exam containers for the proper storage and management of exam materials.
“The Pokot South Subcounty has received two examination containers at Kapchikar and Kaptabuk, Pokot Central has two more containers at Muino and Mosop Chief’s Camp, and West Pokot has been added two containers at Kanyarkwat and Tipet,” he said.
Wamae said the distance from schools to the previous 19 containers posed logistical challenges and by positioning six additional containers closer to the schools, the Ministry intends to enhance the efficiency and security of operations during the examination period.
“Now that we have six more in addition to the nineteen that we had, I believe there will be no issues during the distribution of exams because the problem has been sorted out,” Wamae said.
The CDE said thorough preparation has been made, and he is confident that the examination process this year will proceed smoothly without any issues.
He said there have been no reports of insecurity in the region, and if the security situation remains stable until the completion of the examinations, it will instil greater confidence among educators and stakeholders.
Wamae added that investigations are currently ongoing regarding the fire that erupted at Ortum Boys High School on Monday.
He said authorities are working diligently to determine the cause of the fire and assess any damage that may have occurred.
“The incident raised concerns for the safety of students and staff, as well as the impact it may have on school operations with examinations approaching,’’ he said.
Wamae told the students examinations cannot be suspended under any circumstances, even in the event of a fire incident in the school.
He urged them to avoid situations that could lead to fire outbreaks or the destruction of school property.
The CDE told the students to be their brother’s keeper, encouraging them to assist one another in their academic endeavours to ensure collective success.
