A team of 70,000 security officers have been deployed to secure Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exam papers and the candidates countrywide as the exams kick off today (Tuesday) .

Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i was also on location at the Gilgil DCC’s Office to oversee the opening of a container in readiness for the exams.

Military helicopters are also on standby to ferry exam papers to centers unreachable by road either due to bad roads of flooding.

A total of 1,088, 987 candidates for sit the three-day exam that starts with Mathematics on Tuesday morning. English language and Composition tests are scheduled for mid-morning and afternoon respectively.

On Wednesday, the candidates will tackle Science, Kiswahili and Insha before completing the test with Social Studies and Christian Religious Education on Thursday.

There was fears the ongoing heavy rains might disrupt the exam in some areas but the ministry on Monday said it was adequately prepared.

Wajir, Mandera, Turkana, Marsabit and Isiolo have been mapped out as counties with potential flooding challenges that might require special attention.

Devolution CS who distributed relief food to residents of Wajir on Sunday said they will use military helicopters to deliver exam papers in centres cut off by floods.

On Monday, Basic Education PS Belio Kipsang said they were working closely with the Environment Ministry to get updates on the weather situation.

Kipsang spoke after visiting Nairobi Primary School during the KCPE exam rehearsal.

“We have acquired choppers that will be used in places where the rain has cut off the road,” Kenya National Examinations Council CEO Mercy Karogo said on Monday.

The security officers are expected to guard the papers both in examination centres and the containers at the county and subcounty levels.

They will also accompany headteachers who also double up as centre managers to collect the exam papers from the storage containers every morning and in the evening when the papers are returned to the containers for collection.

A command centre has been set up at Jogoo House from where all security operations will be monitored and coordinated. The government is also banking on surveillance to close in on possible use of gadgets to facilitate cheating and early exposure of the exam papers.

“I can say for sure that our centre managers, supervisors and invigilators are adequately prepared. We ask the centre managers to take charge of their centres,” Kipsang said.

During the Monday rehearsals, the supervisors and invigilators were expected to ensure the candidates and the schools were properly registered and that the rules and procedures to be followed during the exam were clear to everyone.

They were also to ensure exam rooms have proper lighting, ventilation and that candidates have appropriate seats. Writings or drawings that can affect the exam must not be in the exam room or with the precincts of the centre.

This year’s exam will mark a shift in the use of traditional index numbers that ranked students according to performance. Candidates will instead use their admission numbers.