KNUT’s former Baringo North executive member John Kandie has begun a push for affirmative action in favour of candidates in cattle rustling hot spots in Kerio Valley and other volatile regions in the North Rift.
“A form four candidate sitting a national examination in a region where gunshots rule the air cannot and should not be treated equally with a candidate in Nairobi,’’Kandie told Education News at Chemoi Primary School at the onset 2023 national examinations.
Kandie points out that entry grades to join government colleges within the republic and recruitment into the disciplined forces should also be revised so that a candidate from Baringo County can have a chance to compete with counterparts from other regions.
‘’My appeal to the President of Kenya and education stakeholders is to ensure that a candidate from Kenya’s hostile regions should not be denied the chance … just because they failed to score the mandatory C plain or C plus grade,’’ said Kandie.
At the beginning of the 2023 KCPE, there was panic when armed cattle rustlers engaged security personnel in fierce gun battles in Marigat Sub-county and Kapindasum in Mochongoi.
The Kapindasum KCPE candidates were forced to lie down for hours until the siege around their school was contained.
That according to Kandie is a failure by the government to ensure that a child’s right to prepare well for an examination and in a peaceful environment is guaranteed.
Elsewhere, Tuluk Primary School board member Richard Chepchome has announced plans to launch Chemoi Day Secondary School to take care of KCPE candidates who fail to secure form one entry marks in big schools.
“Cattle rustlers are displacing and killing people every day and under such circumstances, many Baringo North KCPE and KCSE candidates cannot perform well as expected because they are always traumatized and ill-prepared for exams unlike those from Nairobi,” he said.
By Jeremiah Chamakany
jeremiahchamakany@gmail.com
Get more stories from our website: Education News
To write to us or offer feedback, you can reach us at: editor@educationnews.co.ke
You can also follow our social media pages on Twitter: Education News KE and Facebook: Education News Newspaper for timely updates.
>>> Click here to stay up-to-date with trending regional stories
