Education Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i says the fresh presidential election ordered by the Supreme Court concluded by October 17 so as not to interfere with the conduct of national examinations.
Addressing the press in Nairobi, Dr Matiang’i noted that Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates will start sitting some of the practical subjects on October 23. The charged atmosphere around electioneering in the country is likely to deny candidates a conducive environment to prepare and sit for the exams while schools also serve as polling stations, he said.
Dr Matiang’i said today he had written to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) over the same.
According to the timetables sent to schools, Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams will begin on Tuesday, October 31, and conclude on Thursday, November 2. Rehearsals for the KCPE will take place on Monday, October 30.
2017.
On the other hand, KCSE exams will start on Monday, November 6 and end on Wednesday, November 29. Rehearsals will be held on Friday, November 3.
According to the Constitution, a fresh election must be held withing 60 days from the date the Supreme Court invalidated President Uhuru Kenyatta’s win following a challenge by Nasa’s Raila Odinga. This translates to November 1 this year.
A total of 1,003,556 candidates were registered for the KCPE while 615,773 were registered to sit the KCSE. There will be 28,566 examination centres for the KCPE and 9,350 for KCSE.
The minister revealed that a total of 6,037 KCPE and 7,001 KCSE private candidates were registered for 2017.
“This year, private candidates will sit both the theory and practical examinations in a public school identified by the Sub County Directors of Education.
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Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) has stationed 419 containers in all subcounties, which will also act as distribution centres. The increase in number of containers, from 346 in 2016, will ensure that there is fast and seamless distribution of examination materials to all centres.
Knec has recruited 5,916 more examiners to match the increased candidature in the 2017 KCPE and KCSE examinations.
“The Council will therefore have 5512 examiners for KCPE and 21,828 examiners for KCSE. All the new examiners have been trained in readiness for the 2017 marking activities. This exercise was carried out between 23rd and 29th April, and 13th and 19th August 2017. Of the new examiners trained, 464 were for the KCPE while 5,452 were for the KCSE,” he said.
In 2017, 197 KCPE and 119 KCSE new schools were registered by the Sub County Directors of Education for use as examination centres, he said, adding Knec has already inspected these schools to ensure they are ready for use during the administration of this year’s examinations.
“It is important to note that all private candidates will this year sit their examinations at public institutions,” the CS said.
During the registration of 2017 candidates, a total of 2,071 KCPE and 1,404 KCSE candidates with Special Needs were registered. KNEC has assessed the needs of these candidates to ensure that suitable and adequate assistance will be provided to them during the administration of the examinations, the minister revealed.
He said appropriate assistance will be communicated to the candidates, centre managers and other officials who will be engaged in the administration of national examinations.
No malpractices
For the first time in the history of KCPE examinations, multiple choice answer sheets for candidates will contain personalised details.
Further, Knec has procured and installed 20 modern scanning machines that will improve the speed and accuracy in the processing of the 2017 examinations. As with last year, Matiang’i said the ministry and KNEC are determined to administer a clean examination devoid of any malpractices.
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“To this end, we are happy to note that, so far, there have not been any reports of fake papers circulating in the market. We thank parents, guardians and teachers for believing in our quest to stamp out cheating in national examinations. We wish to state that the rules we issued last year, detailing the roles of Head Teachers as examination centre managers, are still in force,” he said.
Additionally, schools are expected to close by October 29 with only candidates remaining in schools during the examinations period.
“However, teachers involved in practical subjects will be expected to be in school to prepare for the practicals, only when the examination is taking place,” he said.
