Ensure security to prepare for, sit exams

Learners and teachers at a primary school in Baringo South were gripped by panic this week, during a six-hour shootout between security officers and bandits.

The incident calls for an elaborate and heightened security surveillance in and around schools not only in Baringo County but also other areas prone to insecurity or conflict, especially in the in the North Rift region.

The assurance by the principal secretary in the Ministry of Interior and National Administration, Dr Raymond Omollo, that adequate security measures have been put in place to avert disruption of the national examinations that begin next week is quite timely.

Criminals must not be allowed to use the exam season as an opportunity to showcase their notoriety or cause harm—or do anything that is bound to disrupt an exam or tamper with its integrity. Every student, everywhere in the country, has to be given a conducive environment to maximise their potential in academic performance and become a successful member of society.

Adequate security will provide the students with the confidence that comes from having a peaceful and conducive environment that originates from them knowing that they are being cared for.

Research shows children who feel insecure at school are more likely to perform poorly in their academic endeavours. When one deals with generalised insecurity for a long time, the doubt and negative feelings experienced could have a significant adverse effect on academic performance.

Insecurity is linked to mental health conditions such as narcissism, anxiety, paranoia and addictive or dependent personality. As a result, the necessity of safety is equally crucial when it comes to academic grades—notwithstanding the fact that a student, and by extension their teachers, have a right to feel safe and secure within their place of work and study.

There is no doubt that the security agencies are on top of things but criminal elements may want to provoke them with the intention of creating panic in exam centres as a prelude to committing other crimes. Adequate security will also safeguard the confidential nature of the exam materials, not just during their administration but also in transit to and from the centres.

In addition, a secure environment for the candidates will minimise performance disparities in student outcomes. This is besides it ensuring that the test results are reliable and that they ultimately produce the deserved score for every candidate.

- Dr Kapkiai, Phd, teaches statistical and research methods at Kisii University. [email protected].