Machogu Initiates Plans for KCPE, KCSE Exams
Machogu Initiates Plans for KCPE, KCSE Exams. The three Cabinet Secretaries will hold a meeting tomorrow to oversee the launch of this year’s national exams in Kenya. The move follows the announcement of strategic changes aimed at ensuring the secure administration of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE).
The Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) is actively working to implement measures to remove any vulnerabilities that may compromise integrity.
The meeting will be hosted by Education CS Ezekiel Machogu, with colleagues Kiture Kindiki (Home Affairs) and Eliud Ovalo (ICT) participating as part of a multi-sectoral approach. The meeting is scheduled for Monday and will be held at the Knek headquarters.
At the meeting, Machogu is expected to give details of the three national tests that will be administered to 3.5 million students. According to Knec, more than 1.2 million students will take the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), another 1.4 million will take the KCPE exam and 903,260 will take the KCSE exam.
This year’s KCPE exam is marked as the last in the 8-4-4 education system. Knec Executive Director Dr. David Njengere said adjustments in the transport of KCSE papers, especially those scheduled for the afternoon session, were made to prevent the early release of test materials.
Instead of schools taking morning and afternoon papers at the same time, they now collect each test separately according to the scheduled lesson. For example, papers scheduled for the morning session will be distributed in the morning, while afternoon papers will be stored safely until needed.
“The change will involve only one paper at a time being issued and uploaded to the test centre,” explained Njengere. This change mainly targets the KCSE exam, as it has been identified as more sensitive to early effects.
In addition, the government increased the number of warehouses by 82, bringing the total to 576. Schools have also been modified to allow easier access to the nearest storage container.
Widespread changes in terms of grading are expected to affect KCSE exams. The Presidential Task Force on Education Reform recommends that assessment based on two courses is mandatory in determining students’ final grades. These compulsory subjects will be one language (English or Kiswahili) and Mathematics.
These two subjects will be considered together with the best five subjects to calculate the final result. Currently, Knec assesses applicants in five compulsory subjects and five best subjects, including mathematics, English, Kiswahili and two chosen sciences from biology, chemistry and physics.
Machogu Initiates Plans for KCPE, KCSE Exams