Uncertainty looms large in Mbeere North sub-county, Embu, after 46 candidates registered for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) failed to appear in the exam this year.
With the national examinations entering the second day on Tuesday, the whereabouts of the candidates still remain a mystery, causing panic among locals and education stakeholders in the region.
According to deputy county education director Joseph Ngonjo, candidates were registered to appear for the national exam, but their desks are deserted.
Speaking on a phone call on Monday evening, Ngonjo said that efforts to reach them from their homes have been fruitless as they are said to have left without a trace.
“It is the biggest challenge that many candidates have failed to appear in the examinations, yet their whereabouts remain a mystery,” the director said.
He said that the most possible reason behind their absence was that they may have left their homes in search of daily wage laborers in the Muguka fields and sand harvesting which are the most prominent economic activities in the area.
“The Ministry of Education and other stakeholders are doing everything possible to locate candidates here,” Ngonjo said.
He said that 3,807 candidates had registered in the area, out of which 1,912 are boys and 1,895 are girls.
At the same time, three students from Embu Level Five Hospital are writing their papers, in which two have given birth while one is unwell.
