Security was tight in Mandera county schools on Tuesday as the Kenya Certificate of Primary Examination exams started.
Schools along the Somalia border have been given extra security provided to prevent attacks by al Shabaab militants.
Speaking in Mandera town when he opened the exams container, county Education director Abdihamid Maalim said the papers will be airlifted to four centres facing security challenges. They will also be airlifted to exam centres inaccessible because of heavy rains.
Speaking in Garissa, Northeastern regional commissioner Mohamed Birik said strict security is in place to ensure the KCPE exam goes on uninterrupted throughout the region.
He said KDF and other frontline units along the border with Somalia will deliver papers to schools in Amuma, Liboi, Dif and in refugee camps.
“I want to assure all the candidates sitting this year’s KCPE and KCSE exams that the papers are secure and those in areas that have been cut off by the rains will still sit their exams,” he said.
Birik said there will be three standby helicopters in Garissa, Wajir and Mandera to transport exams and security personnel to schools.
He said the same choppers will also serve schools affected by floods, especially in Mandera, Wajir and the southern parts of Garissa county such as Hulugho and Sangailu.
in the last six years, the county has invested heavily in education by employing teachers to fill gaps left by non-local teachers who fled in 2014 after a wave of al Shabaab attacks that left dozens dead.
Dry weather roads have been washed away in several areas, with the damage estimated at Sh2billion.
Transport has been cut off on the Mandera- Moyale-Nairobi road.
The Ministry of Education has imposed stringent measures to prevent exam cheating, which has declined in the past two years.
Investigations into last year’s exam cheating uncovered collusion in candidates’ answer scripts, including identical errors in calculations, correct responses after incorrect working, identical wording and numerous identical corrections.
One group of candidates had identical readings in science practials.
In some cases, answers were copied from textbooks and notes or prepared outside the examination room. In some cases, different coloured ink was used in to answer one or more questions.
The Knec investigations report blamed negligence and commission or omission by contracted professionals who did not perform their roles.
Exam cheating has, however,declined.
(Edited by V. Graham)
