The local authorities in Kwale have urged parents and residents to minimise wedding celebrations during national examinations.
The call comes amid increasing wedding ceremonies accompanied by late night discos of Taarab and Bango music.
The county security had banned night disco matanga to curb insecurity and teen pregnancies in the region.
Msambweni assistant county commissioner Flavia Akumu said the night wedding discos are still a major challenge in the region.
She said they would largely affect the candidates' concentration and performance if done concurrently during the exam period.
"Let's give our children room to revise for the exams because we have a lot of problems when it comes to night discos," she said.
Most teenage girls normally accompany by their parents to celebrate the weddings until late at night hence preyed on by sex predators.
In 2021, the region recorded more than 9,321 teen pregnancies with wedding discos being one of the many factors blamed for the surge and poor performance of students.
Akumu asked parents to value their children's education by creating a conducive learning environment for them.
She said education is the only way to successful lives.
Previously, there had been reports of high number of school children loitering in the streets during school hours in Msambweni.
Ukunda and Bongwe/Gombato wards are the most affected, according to the local authorities.
The administrator underscored the importance of education asking parents to support the government's move of 100 per cent transition.
She said they must improve parental responsibilities to ensure children are educated and get good grades for more learning opportunities to open up.
"We have so many sponsors but if our students have poor results, the sponsors would definitely be discouraged," she said.
Akumu urged residents to look after the students at home as they break for a two-month holiday.
The lower classes closed schools last week for the end term and paved way for the KCPE and KCSE exam candidates to do their tests.
The administrator said parents must be protective to ensure their children don't turn out to be victims of teen pregnancy, defilement and early marriage.
On Monday Msambweni Deputy county commissioner Lotiatia Kipkech warned that those playing loud music will be arrested and charged.
"We are asking residents to stop all discos, play low volume so as not to disturb the ongoing national exams or else you will face law," he said.
County Education director Martin Cheruiyot advised school heads to hunt for children to strengthen the 100 per cent transition when school reopens in May.
He said there is a tendency of school children disappearing immediately after the KCPE exams and not enrolling to secondary schools.
“Headmasters make sure your students transit to high schools because you know where they live. It’s heartbreaking seeing half of them get lost on the way after finishing Standard 8,” he said.
Recently, the county security noted that majority of the learners who don’t transit have either joined boda bodas or subjected to forced teen marriages.
Cheruiyot said no child should remain at home even if they scored poorly in national exams.
He tasked chiefs and their assistants to work together to track the school children if they fail to report in schools in May.
-Edited by SKanyara
