The Cabinet Secretary for Education Prof George Magoha has confirmed when next year’s Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) will be done.
CS Magoha was accompanying his fellow CS for Interior Fred Matiang’I who was touring South Mugirang in Kisii County yesterday.
Following complaints that next year’s national examinations may catch candidates unawares due to the limited time spent in school, Prof Magoha addressed those claims saying that there should be no cause of concern.
According to the CS, HIS Ministry is well aware of the ongoing situation in schools with a series of school fires reported across the country leading to many schools having to close for an indefinite period only to resume a few weeks later following deliberations between the affected schools and government officials.
The CS for Education revealed that the government will consider all factors while working with the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) and other education stakeholders before examinations are set and released to schools in March next year.
The National examinations will now proceed as planned with the CS confirming that indeed the examinations will take place as planned in March 2022.
Magoha added that KCPE and KCSE examinations will be designed in such a way that factors in challenges that learners underwent due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. He added that the national examinations will be student-friendly. This means that topics that will not have been covered sufficiently by that time may not be included.
The CS implored candidates to stay calm and assured them that his Ministry understands the events that have happened across the country in these schools this year.
“Learners maintain calm and be ready to do their examinations. We will ensure we have a human face in the examinations so do not fear,” said Prof Magoha.
Last year’s KCPE examinations showed that primary schools did better in the national examinations than they did in 2019. However, there were rumours that the results had undergone moderation so as to favour learners from public schools.
However, the government rubbished the claims and explained that the results were a result of the advantages that come with a free primary education programme besides the ample supply of textbooks to all learners.
The KCSE also recorded an improvement in the KCSE examinations, where even more candidates qualified for university admission than in 2019. These results were attained despite the learners staying at home for more than seven months following the closure of all learning institutions to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus in March 2020.