Two parents whose children got pregnant while in form four and the ndependent presidential hopeful Peter Solomon Gichira want the court to order the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) to set up supplementary examination for students who fall pregnant.
The petitioners want candidates who have given birth within one and three months be exempted from sitting national examination and be allowed to do supplementary exams.
“If the court does find that the petition is merited the supplementary examination be administered at least three months after the last date of Kenya Certificate of Primary Education and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Examinations” he stated.
Gichira, Faith Muru and Miriam Mweni Mutua argued in their petition to the constitutional court that their application is centered on the alarming and increased number pregnancies among female candidates.
They contended that Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed ordered for on audit on the rise of teenage pregnancies since she noted that the it has risen exponentially.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) 2017 report on adolescent and teenage pregnancies shows that 378,397 girls aged between 10 and 19 years got pregnant between July 2016 and 2017.
The Petitioner further argued that going by the Kenyan Education system the age of 10 to 19 years is of school going children normally in primary and secondary schools respectively.
The data by UNFPA further showed a prevalence rate of 40 per cent in Narok County followed by Homa Bay with 33 per cent West Pokot 29 per cent Tana River and Nyamiara with 20 per cent and other Counties following closely.
The say that according to Director of Education from Kitui County, a total of 72 candidates sitting for their national examinations this year were pregnant out of those 41 candidates have since given birth during the course of the examination.
