A picture of an armed policeman in an examination room has elicited a lot of discussion in Kenya with many criticising education authorities for allowing it.

Primary schoolchildren have been sitting for their final exam and education officials have been implementing several measures to curb cheating, which has become a big problem in Kenya. It's unclear if deploying armed policemen in exams rooms is part of the strategy.

Esther Njeri, a 35-year-old woman whose child is sitting this year’s Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam, said police officers should monitor classrooms from outside to avoid intimidating pupils.

“Even as an adult there’s an unexplainable tension when you find yourself seated next to armed police officers or even being in the same room with them,” she said.

A head teacher of a school in the capital, Nairobi, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the presence of armed security personnel in schools was not an issue.

“The security of the exam is paramount and having [armed guards] is not a new situation since the officers are not going inside the classrooms... This has been replicated in other schools to ensure there is no cheating during these exams,” the teacher said.

At Olympic Primary School in Nairobi armed guards refused to allow anyone was not accredited to enter the institution’s compound.

At other primary schools in the capital, guards said they were under instruction not to allow anyone into the institutions.

President Uhuru Kenyatta made an impromptu visit in one school in the capital.