Protect learners during long December school holiday- Parents advised

Parents and guardians have been urged to keep a close eye on their children to protect them from vices that may ruin their lives during the long Christmas break.

The Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Ms Florence Bore also called on parents and guardians to assign responsibilities relevant to the ages of the children to avoid violating their rights by engaging in child labour.

According to the Children’s Act, a child is any person under the age of 18 years and Section 56 of the Employment Act makes it illegal to employ children under the age of 13 but they can be employed in “light work” while those between 16 and 18 are considered employable.

The CS was speaking in Kericho County during monitoring of the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams.

In Kericho County, a total of 29,448 class 8 candidates will be seating for KCPE exams while 26,978 grade 6 candidates will sit for Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA).

The Cabinet Secretary asked the personnel handling the national examinations to maintain integrity by ensuring no unauthorized person is allowed at the exam centres to avoid disrupting the candidates as they undertake their exams.

The Labour CS stressed that the security of the examination materials is paramount calling on the exam centre managers to ensure the examination materials are not accessed by unauthorized persons.

“The personnel handling examinations have been vetted by their various appointing institutions and are expected to handle the work professionally by adhering to the guidelines for the conduct of the examinations,” said CS Bore.

Bore later visited a number of Primary schools to monitor the ongoing exams within Kericho County including Township Primary School in Ainamoi Constituency, Chagaik Primary in Kipkelion East Sub-County and Kamarus Primary in Kipkelion West Sub-County.

Kericho County Commissioner Mr. Kamau Karungo assured that all systems were in place to ensure a smooth running of the exams period warning that all forms of exam malpractices will be dealt with decisively in accordance with the law.

Also present during the opening of the exam container and distribution of the papers was the Kericho East Deputy County Commissioner Mr. Stephen Orinde, County Education officer, officials from the Kenya National Examination Council, Teachers Service Commission, Kenya National Union of Teachers, and Curriculum Support Officers from Kericho County.

The class eight KCPE candidates and the grade 6 KPSEA candidates will sit for their exams from Monday 28th November 2022 to Wednesday 30th November 2022.

Five subjects will be done in the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) starting with Mathematics and ending with Creative Art and Social Studies.