- Kenyenya DCC William Bett has ordered Chiefs, Assistant Chiefs and Nyumba Kumi groups to submit lists of KCSE candidates not in school for follow-up.
- He has said security preparations have been put in place across 47 secondary schools in the sub-county ahead of national examinations.
- Parents in Nyamache have also decried rising cases of defilement of minors and asked the government to retrain teachers on child safety.
Kenyenya Sub-county Deputy County Commissioner William Bett has ordered Chiefs, their Assistants and Nyumba Kumi groups to work closely with secondary school principals to ensure all KCSE candidates are in school to prepare for their national examinations.
He said it is unpalatable for a learner to be in school for the better part of their life and then fail to sit for final examinations because of one reason or the other, especially school fees.
“We know money is a problem, but most of the principals have indicated loosening of the rope for some needy cases to reach others,” he said.
Speaking to Education News at his office on Tuesday, the administrator asked principals to submit lists of candidates who have not yet reported to their respective schools to enable his officers to follow up and trace them from wherever they are.
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Bett said security preparations for the forthcoming examinations have been put in place at sub-county level, adding that all the 47 secondary schools in the area have shown good readiness for the exercise. He warned parents against hiding candidates at home to work on farms or engage in boda boda business during the examination period, saying those found culpable will face the law.
Elsewhere in Nyamache Sub-county, parents have decried the high rate of defilement of school minors and asked the government to take stern action against perpetrators. Led by Jeremiah Tirimba, the parents appealed to the Ministry of Education to retrain some of its field teachers, including head teachers, on child safety in schools, claiming some are among child abusers.
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“These people are entrusted with children to take care of, but some of them have turned into wolves in sheep’s skins,” he said. The parents called for collective effort from the Church, NGOs and other social workers towards safeguarding the welfare of the child in the region.
It is important to note that school children are the future citizens and leaders of this country. Protecting and guiding them today guarantees that the nation will have responsible, educated and morally upright leaders tomorrow. When children are kept in school, protected from abuse, defilement and child labour, and supported to complete their examinations, the country secures its human resource base for development.
By Enock Okong’o
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