Ambulances on standby as 140 KCPE pregnant Narok candidates sit for exams

Narok County Commissioner Mr Isaac Masinde addressing Journalists after the opening of examinations container on November 28, 2022. He said they have put ambulances on standby in case of labour emergency as 140 girls sit the KCPE exam while pregnant. 

Photo credit: Robert Kiplagat | Nation Media Group

Security agencies in Narok have strategically placed ambulances on standby as 140 pregnant candidates sit for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations across the county.

Addressing journalists after the distribution of examination materials outside his offices, Narok County Commissioner Isaac Masinde said all measures were in place to ensure that the expectant candidates sit for the exams in a conducive environment.

"We have ambulances on standby in case any of the 140 go into labour. We have also alerted the centre managers and supervisors to act swiftly in case of any emergency," Mr Masinde said.

Statistics from the Ministry Education show that 248 pregnant candidates in primary and secondary schools will sit for the exams in Narok County.

A total of 741 girls in primary and secondary schools in the county were confirmed pregnant.

Some 332 of the pregnant girls are in primary school, while 409 are in secondary school. Of the 741 pregnancies, 140 are KCPE candidates and 108 KCSE ones.

Narok South sub-county leads in the number of teen pregnancies with 149, followed by Narok Central with 140.

Others are Narok West (124), Transmara West (81), Narok East (66), Transmara South (67), Narok North (60) and Transmara East (54).

Some 36,782 pupils in Grade Six, 33,980 in Standard Eight and 12,444 in secondary school will sit for this year's national examinations in Narok County this year.

Mr Masinde said 70,758 KCPE and Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA, for Grade Six) will sit for the tests at 1,711 examination centres.

Of those, 33,970 are KCPE candidates and 36,788 under the new Competency Based Curriculum.

A teacher picking exams at Narok Central Sub-County examinations container on November 28,2022

Photo credit: Robert Kiplagat | Nation Media Group

Some 18, 954 boys and 17, 828 girls will sit for the KPSEA tests.

A total of 17,284 and 16,700 girls will sit for the KCPE exam.

Mr Masinde, the county’s security committee chair, said security had been reinforced, with each examination centre getting two security officers.

"We will not leave anything to chance. We have deployed adequate security personnel and we have ensured that no exam materials leave the container unmanned. We do not want any cheating," he said.