Lawmakers bar students from taking exams from hospital beds

Lawmakers bar students from taking exams from hospital beds.

With the adoption of a new policy proposed by lawmakers, candidates in the hospital during the administration of national examinations will not be allowed to sit for their exams from a hospital bed. However, it will be the responsibility of the Kenya National Examinations Council to provide candidates with an opportunity to sit for supplementary examinations.

This information came to light through the National Assembly Committee of Education during its assessment tour at Mitihani House. The assessment tour focused on establishing the progress of construction and the level of exam preparedness.

Candidates sitting for this year’s examinations will not be beneficiaries of the proposed law since the committee recommendation was made after the setting of the national exams.

Currently, no measures are in place to protect students who fall sick before or during the examination period, and most students have to sit for their examinations from a hospital bed. Some students end up missing all or part of their papers.

According to the committee chairperson, Julius Melly, some students may fall sick during the examination while others, especially girls, may have delivered. The Kenyan government needs to implement better policies to protect these categories of students. The chairperson highlighted the possibility of alternative remedies to this problem and the likelihood of implementing an alternative testing approach.

While addressing this issue, the chairperson acknowledged the council’s efforts in preparing for the upcoming examinations. Specifically, he acknowledged measures put in place by the council to mitigate cheating. During this year’s national examinations, there will be close monitoring of social media to reduce misinformation instances.

Nearly 1.2 million students will sit for the KCPE examinations this year, while 900,000 will sit for the KCSE examinations.

The National Assembly Committee on Education has committed to ensuring that examiners receive their dues immediately after the marking process. The legislators have also committed to increasing the number of marking centers to decongest those already available.

The committee also acknowledged the new Mitihani House that took over 3o years to complete. The project has cost the taxpayer over 3 billion Kenyan shillings beyond its initial cost of 248.9 million Kenyan shillings. However, the building is partially complete, with an expected additional budgetary allocation of 350 million Kenyan shillings.

Lawmakers bar students from taking exams from hospital beds.