The National Parents Association (NPA) has asked the government to halt any plans to launch a security operation in the Kerio Valley.
Following a wave of attacks in the region, the government has been planning to roll out an operation aimed at flushing out bandits.
But with the national examinations only a week or so away, the parents association wants the operation plan put on hold.
According to NPA chairperson Nicholas Maiyo, launching a security operation in the region at this time may lead to hundreds of students failing to sit for the exams.
“As parents association, we will now allow any security operation in Kerio Valley at this time because of the upcoming examinations,” Maiyo noted.
“If you do the operation now, parents will be forced to move out of their homes, and this means students will also go with them – leading to a massive number of students failing to show up for the examination,” he added.
Standard eight and form four candidates are scheduled to sit for KCPE and KCSE examinations respectively in March.
And with the exams around the corner, parents are now asking the government to beef up security in Kerio Valley to ensure a conducive environment for learners.
“Instead of mounting a security operation, deploy sufficient security personnel in the region during the examination period and after that, you can now do the operation,” noted the parents’ association chairperson.
There have been concerns that some learners may not sit for the exams due to the rising insecurity situation in Kerio Valley.
This follows a recent wave of attacks that local leaders say were targeted at learning institutions.
According to Elgeyo Marakwet Deputy Governor Wisely Rotich, at least 5 schools have been a target of bandit attacks within the Kerio Valley within the last two months.
The recent one was an attack on Tot High School students that left a driver dead, and several others injured – among them students and teachers.
