Three of the 15 registered KCPE candidates at the Kitui prison did not show up to sit the first papers on Tuesday.
Officer in-charge of the prison, Hassan Wako, said one of three candidates had been released to serve probation. He had been in jail for stealing. The other two had secured bail as their cases continued at the Kitui court.
“We have contacted them to come and sit the exam, but they are yet to turn up. In such circumstances, we are going to proceed with the examination with those available,” Wako said.
He said the government had paid the examination fees for three. The question papers and answer sheets with their names were placed on the vacant desks.
Wako spoke to the media after he witnessed the opening of the first exam paper by Mutua Kyalo, who is among the remaining 12 KCPE candidates.
He also said some candidates skipped their appeals hearing in the High Court on Tuesday to take the exam.
“They opted to sit for the examination. We are liaising with the High Court so that the hearings can be rescheduled,” Wako said.
He said the decision was good because the examination cannot be rescheduled.
Meanwhile, Kitui county director of education Salesa Adano said the start of the KCPE examination was smooth.
Adano said 38,000 candidates are sitting the exam in 428 centres across Kitui County. He said the examination had attracted 44 private candidates.
