Bureaucracy 2

The fourth years start their national exams (Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education or KCSE) on Wednesday. We have been filling out paperwork for months and making sure every single t is crossed and every i is dotted for this. Tomorrow is a national holiday (Kenyatta Day to commemorate the independence hero and the first president) so school will be closed and we had to prepare the school today.

Step 1: In order to make sure that there is sufficient space between the candidates (that is how the government refers to students taking exams), it became necessary to split the fourth years into two rooms. That meant the third years lost their classroom. They had to haul their desks to a decrepit mud shack that is supposed to serve as a lunchroom (no one eats in there because it overheats and is pretty uncomfortable; instead, it is used for bicycle storage). For the next three weeks (candidates will sit for 20 exam papers in 8 subjects over this time), this miserable room will be their classroom.
Step 2: All books have to be removed from inside candidates' desks. All graffiti (there is a lot) has to be scratched off their desks using sandpaper. All posters and teaching aids must be removed from the walls. All blackboards must be scrubbed clean.
Step 3: Teachers have to prepare space for the invigilator. The invigilator is an education officer who will help supervise exams and make sure there are no irregularities. He or she needs space in the staff room and it is necessary to make sure that there is a plate, fork, spoon and tea cup for the guest.
Step 4: First, second and third year students are strictly forbidden to walk anywhere near the third or fourth year classroom. Extra warnings are issued about "noisemaking".

I'm worried that there will be another half-dozen steps and I just haven't found out about them yet. I think that I am just as anxious about exams as the students are. I'm hoping that all this chemistry review will pay off.