Headteachers have listed new demands on the administration of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination, that may see a change in the registration and dates of the exams if approved. The principals urged Education Secretary, George Magoha, to push the registration date to the students’ last year in school, rather than when they are in Form Three. They argued that there was a tendency by parents to relapse and not follow up on their children’s welfare and progress once the learners are registered to sit the exams.Kenya Secondary School’s Heads Association (KESSHA) chairperson, Kahi Indimuli, further argued that schools have in the past grappled with truancy as students disappeared for a better part of the school calendar only to reappear weeks before the exams. Education CS Magoha speaking to learners of Chavakali High School, Vihiga County on March 6, 2021.Twitter “Whenever we conduct registration in Form Three, a larger group of students vanish as the examination fee is paid by the government.“Parents also relax and are not concerned with students failing to attend school,” Indimuli noted.He further suggested that the Ministry of Education changes the registration exercise to curb truancy by considering the period a student has attended classes. He suggested that the Ministry puts a ceiling on the minimum number of lessons a learner should clock to be eligible for registration as a candidate. The teachers also called upon Magoha to be lenient with expectant and new mothers sitting the exams. It was proposed that students who give birth before and during the national exams be given enough rest time and be excluded from the national tests. These students should, later on, sit special KCSE exams. “Why should we test a girl who has just delivered?. “Imagine a young girl going through labour pains all night and delivering at 6am maybe through the caesarean section or normal delivery, only to meet an invigilator, a policeman and a supervisor two hours later. This should be changed,” argued Indimuli.Magoha and his docket are yet to respond to the proposals. However, in the previous exams, the CS directed all candidates, including pregnant and breastfeeding, to take the exam during the scheduled timelines. “Pregnancy should not be treated as a disease. We are calling upon Interior Ministry officials to look for the girls, ensure they receive proper counselling and return them to school,” the CS stated in 2021. Kenya Secondary School’s Heads Association (KESSHA) chairperson, Kahi Indimuli addresses education delegates on October 20, 2021File
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