Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Nominated Member of Parliament Wilson Sossion has differed with Nasa Presidential candidate Raila Odinga over the scheduled national examinations, which might conflict with the presidential repeat elections if they are rescheduled.

Issuing a joint statement with the Education Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Secretary General said that the children should be given a priority, and that education matters should not be politicised.

“Exams and school programs should not be politicised. For any nation, children come first. The dates as set out and as outlined should not be altered for whatsoever reason,” said Sossion.

“The exams are very critical for our children and they have prepared for the exams and not any other reason. Whether there are changes on the elections dates, we will stand to defend the exams calendar. The two events are independent.”

On his side, Dr Matiang’i remained candid on exam dates, stating that they will not change come what may.

“IEBC has not communicated to us of any date change regarding the elections. If they decide to change the date then we will come back to the public, but what I can assure you is that the Exam calendar will not change. We will provide all the required security to our children to ensure they sit their exams,” he said during a stakeholders meeting at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD).

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Raila holds that exams can be pushed further to ensure that the electoral body is cleansed before conducting any election in the country, adding the “children would not die”.

This has, however, not gone down well with his political opponents led by President Uhuru Kenyatta and education stakeholders.

The IEBC set the October 17 date following a plea from Dr Matiang’i.