The Star ­ Thursday
Date: 13.08.2015
Page 31
Article size: 105 cm2
ColumnCM: 23.33
AVE: 41066.66
Northeastern students must sit exams ­ NGO
BY AGATHA NGOTHO
POLITICIANS and civil society groups from northern
Kenya have said candidates from the region must sit for
National Examination Council to set special exams for
April next year should be heard," said Abdi.
the exams at all cost.
He said affirmative action is needed to reduce the
The group said they will ensure that candidates in the
region are prepared for the upcoming exams.
Arid Lands Development Focus Kenya CEO Ahmed
Abdi urged the government to allocate training grant to
existing gaps and improve education outcomes.
Abdi called on the government to fast­track the
enactment of emergency policies and allocation of
resources for recruitment and training of local teachers
cover the in­service costs of recruited untrained teachers
until the teachers crisis is normalised.
to be conducted during school holidays.
He urged the government to reward the devoted
teachers who stayed on through the crisis and did not
"No learning has been going on in schools for the last
seven months and there is still a gap of 2,126 teachers.
This disproportionate ratio of teachers to pupils at an
average of 1:100 should be addressed to salvage the
abscond their duties.
"We stand here today to get resolution for the NEP
education emergency if there is a listening government.
Unless the region is being victimised and there is a plan
to jeopardise the future of 400,000 children, we demand
an in­service approach to training of teachers to fill
positions and teaching vacancies currently abandoned,"
the group said as they shouted 'Mandera, Wajir and
situation," he added.
Garissa is Kenya'.
The group demanded the re­introduction of P2 teachers
and the lowering entry levels for primary schools teachers.
The group had earlier urged the government to
compensate for the lost time by providing resources into
a crash programme for the next three months including
August holiday to prepare KCPE and KCSE students for
exams.
"The way it stands now, unless there will be an
immediate solution for the candidates from the region, our
call to the education cabinet secretary to instruct Kenya
DEDICATION: Mandera's top KCSE student Ibrahim Ali, 18,
who scored 81 points in last year's exam teaching form
four student at Sheihk Ali high school.
Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya