EMBU, Kenya, Mar 8 — A cloud of uncertainty hangs in Mbeere North Sub-county, Embu, after 46 candidates registered for this year’s Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) failed to turn up for the examinations.
As the national examinations entered day two on Tuesday, the whereabouts of the candidates still remain a mystery sending panic among locals and education stakeholders in the area.
The candidates, according to Sub-County Education Director Joseph Ngonjo, had been registered to sit for the national exams but their desks remain deserted.
Speaking on a phone call on Monday evening, Ngonjo said efforts to reach them from their homes have been unfruitful as they are said to have left without a trace.
“This is the biggest challenge we are having of many candidates failing to turn up for the examinations yet their whereabouts remains a mystery,” said the Director.
He said the most plausible reason behind their absence was that they may have left their homes in search of casual labor in Muguka farms and sand harvesting that are the most predominant economic activities in the area.
“The Ministry of Education and other stakeholders here are doing everything possible to trace the candidates,” Ngonjo said.
He reported that 3,807 candidates had been registered in the area out ow which 1,912 are boys while 1,895 are girls.
At the same time, three pupils are writing their papers from Embu Level Five Hospital with two having given birth while one is indisposed.
