Police in Jomvu, Mombasa County, have arrested a woman who reportedly stopped her Grade Six daughter from sitting the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) because the girl's index number contained the digits 666, which the mother linked to the devil.

The arrest came on Tuesday, October 27, the second day of the national assessments. School officials raised the alarm when the candidate failed to turn up. Officers then went to the family's home, according to The Eastleigh Voice, People Daily and TV47.

How the learner was traced

Several outlets reported that the school's head teacher alerted education officers and police after the girl missed her papers. A team led by Jomvu Sub-County Police Commander Celina Chirchir went to the house and arrested the mother. Police and children's officers then escorted the girl to an examination centre so she could sit the papers she had missed.

Accounts differ on some details. Nation reported that the girl had been locked up at home. Other outlets said only that her mother had refused to let her leave for the exam. Reports say the woman, aged 38, cited her Christian faith and the "Mark of the Beast" in the Book of Revelation as her reason for keeping the child at home.

TV47 reported that the mother was being held while authorities pursued legal action. No charges had been made public by Wednesday, and none of the outlets has named the mother or her daughter.

Index numbers are generated by KNEC

Assessment and index numbers are generated by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) during candidate registration. Parents, learners and schools do not pick them, so a number such as 666 is simply where a candidate falls in a school's sequence.

Kenyan law makes basic education compulsory, and children's officers can act when a parent's decision denies a child that right. Education officials have said throughout this exam season that every registered candidate must be given the chance to sit the assessments.

A tense exam season

The incident comes as more than 3.6 million learners sit national assessments and examinations this year. The KPSEA for Grade Six and the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) for Grade Nine began on Monday, October 26. The main written papers of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) start on November 2.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has warned against malpractice and told parents to watch out for fraudsters who claim to sell exam papers. Police have also published emergency contacts for the public to report suspicious activity around exam centres.

For the Jomvu learner, the intervention means her assessment record should be complete. Her mother's case now rests with investigators.

Photos: TV47 Digital. Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.