The Ministry of Education has ruled out postponing the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations due to the expected El Niño rains, noting that they will be taken at the same time across the country.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

A Ministry official said the government has put measures in place to ensure candidates sitting the examinations have access to their examination centres despite disruptions caused by heavy rains and floods.

“The national examinations are zero-sum. They cannot be postponed and cannot be delayed. Everybody must do the paper at the same time across the country,” the official said.

The clarification was issued during the 13th National Climate Outlook Forum on the October-December 2026 rainfall outlook held in Nairobi on Wednesday, August 26.

📌 What You Need to Know

The Ministry acknowledged that the anticipated heavy rains could create challenges in transporting examination materials and accessing some schools, particularly in areas affected by flooding.

The official explained that the government maps out vulnerable areas in advance and identifies alternative locations where examination centres can be relocated if roads become impassable.

“We map out the country in advance, and then we decide which centre should be moved to which location to mitigate against areas that we are very sure we will not be able to reach in case of any emergencies,” the official said.

The Ministry will also rely on air transport to deliver examination materials to areas that cannot be reached by road, with drones expected to be deployed as an additional measure this year.

“We also do airlifting. If we cannot go by road, we go by air. This year we are going to deploy drones. Those are some of the innovations we are putting in place,” the official added.

The government is also preparing for possible food supply disruptions in boarding schools during the examination period, with schools advised to stock adequate supplies before the rains begin.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke