Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KSCE) candidates from various schools in Kamurguywo and Samoo areas in Nandi County were on Tuesday left stranded after a bridge that connects the two villages collapsed.
Teachers and residents, who spoke to journalists on Tuesday, revealed that the bridge which took 10 years to build, collapsed following heavy rains in the area.
Residents registered their disappointment considering most students are now unable to sit for their examinations since they rely on this particular piece of infrastructure for their commutes to school.
“The road is now impassable. We are appealing for help to enable us to revert to normalcy,” Paul Lagat, a teacher at Kipsinende Secondary School told journalists.
What particularly distressed the residents is the fact that the bridge, although functional, was easily swept away by the floods despite being under construction for 10 years.
“This is the only bridge we rely on, in this whole area there is no other bridge, and as of now we cannot cross to the other side,” stated another resident.
As such, the residents have called on the government to step in and construct a quality bridge to allow the residents to resume their normal operations.
This comes even as various parts of the country continue to be ravaged by floods at a time when KCSE examinations are going on.
Speaking on Monday, November 6, however, Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang stated that the government will deploy helicopters to areas affected by floods, including areas where roads were damaged to facilitate the distribution of examination papers.
“With the choppers, we are assured that the examination papers will reach the examination centers, and we are urging our candidates to not attempt to cross any flooded rivers,” PS Kipsang stated on November 6, 2023.
By the time of publishing this article, North Eastern, sections of the Coast and parts of Rift Valley were the hardest hit by the ongoing floods.
In light of this fact, the government has deployed choppers to the affected areas.
Before the start of the examinations, the government had earlier deployed boats to different areas in preparation for the rains.
