A gas leak at the Makande Girls Secondary School on Thursday morning led to the fainting of eight Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates at the school, with five of them still admitted at the Makadara General Hospital in Mombasa.
According to a Citizen TVÂ live report, the incident temporarily disrupted the Kiswahili examination the students were sitting for when the tragedy struck as the gas leak had engulfed a large part of the examination center.
At the time of this reporting, investigations are still ongoing and law enforcement officials have yet to identify the source of the gas leak even though there are suspicions that businesses operating around the school might be the culprit.
There is reportedly a site where all the businesses dump their waste just outside the school compound which might have led to the leak.
Candidates from St Anne’s Girls High School, Lioki, in Kiambu County sit for KCSE papers on November 6, 2023.
Photo
KNEC
Around 90 students are registered to sit for the examination at the school and 84 of them have been allowed to proceed with their Kiswahili examination, which they were sitting for, although they have been moved to the nearby Makande Boys Secondary School to complete the exercise.
As for the remaining five still in hospital, they are expected to be discharged in the afternoon, when they will then sit for the examination that they have missed. In today’s timetable, the students are expected to sit for their Kiswahili Language examination in the morning and Insha in the afternoon.
Parents of the candidates at the school have been assured that their children have been moved from the premises and even the ones still in the hospital are in stable condition.
The area that had the largest gas concentration has since been contained as investigations continue.
This latest incident adds to a long list of tragic incidents that have plagued this year’s KCSE examination as the theory examination exercise enters day four.
Kicking off on Monday, the examinations began with a tragedy reported in Meru where a male KCSE candidate registered in Tigania West constituency passed away at midnight just hours before he was expected to sit for the examination.Â
On day 2, Tuesday, November 6, another KCSE candidate from Ebubere Secondary School in Mumias collapsed and passed away while inside the examination room awaiting to sit his mathematics paper that was to start at 8:00am.
Other major incidents that often mar the KCSE process have also been reported this year including several births by girls sitting for their examinations. On day one alone, three deliveries were reported in different parts of the country and reports keep trickling in.
By day three, an astonishing 27 candidates were confirmed to be sitting for their examination in hospitals for both pregnancies as well as other medical conditions.
“Generally, the number is slightly above the 2023 we saw on the first day of examinations and therefore we would want our parents to be closer to their children,” the PS appealed to the parents during his address on Wednesday.
Students at Oloolaiser High School in Kajiado County get frisked as they enter the examination room on November 6, 2024.
Photo
Ministry of Education
