Education stakeholders in the Arid and Semi-Arid regions (ASAL) have voiced their concerns about the number of candidates who will not show up for the national exams scheduled for November and December 2022.
Stakeholders reported that learners in impacted counties had to drop out due to the severe drought.
Some of the students had to go with their families in search of food and water.
Children of all ages were put at risk for contracting diseases and experiencing other long-lasting impacts due to the drought.
Concerned stakeholders asked the government to give these regions greater attention when planning school feeding programs.
They contended that if older students and children were provided the same incentives as those in Early Childhood Development Education, they too would remain enrolled in school .
However, they stressed that it is unrealistic to expect kids in drought-affected areas to perform at the same level as their peers across the country.
Ezekiel Machogu, the Cabinet Secretary (CS) of Education, has previously promised to collaborate with other leaders to mitigate the devastating consequences of the drought on learning institutions.
He reassured concerned parents and community members that government officials would take measures to guarantee that all students attended classes despite the devastating drought.
“Currently, the Education Ministry is feeding learners in 10 arid counties, 16 semi-arid counties and informal urban settlements in 10 counties,” Machogu stated.
Machogu made the announcement while speaking at an event held at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) on Wednesday, November 2. He promised to publish a guidebook with the title History of Kenya’s School Meal.
The KCPE examinations are set to start on November 28 and go until November 30. The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education, KCSE, will now start earlier, on November 21 and continue through December 23.
Students in Grade 6 will also take national exams in November to gauge their progress through the CBC.
