Two weeks to the start of three national examinations, Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has assured Kenyans of water-tight processes to produce “uncompromised” tests and credible results.
Mr Machogu says he is committed to curbing exam irregularities, picking the cue from his predecessor George Magoha despite unending concerns from the public that cheating was still rampant amid the government’s tough talk.
“We will leave nothing to chance as far as the administration of national exams is concerned, ” Mr Machogu told headteachers from the wider Nyanza and Western regions when he met them in a three-hour address at Kisumu Girls.
As is the tradition, Mr Machogu said Education will work closely with ICT and Interior ministries to deliver transparent and credible examinations. While Interior is in charge of security, ICT deploys cutting-edge technology that, among other gains, helps to monitor the exam flow remotely and deliver faster marking of the tests.
“The multi-agency team is ready, keen and vigilant to deliver an uncompromised and successful examination process for the year 2022,” he said.
After the August 9 elections that ushered in a new administration with William Ruto as President, Kithure Kindiki is the Interior minister who succeeded Fred Matiang’i, a former don who was Education minister before he was transferred to the security docket. It was Dr Matiang’i who shocked the nation with the reduced number of A-plain scores in KCSE across the country to below 150. Previously, one school could produce more than 200 straight As in what was attributed to cheating, giving the university placement agency sleepless nights.
The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam will run between November 28 and December 1, while the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) tests run from December 1 to December 23.
The pioneer Competence-Based Curriculum Grade Six class will sit for the three-day Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) from November 28.
Thanks to the larger-than-life profile of national exams in Kenya, passing the tests has been a matter of life and death for the candidates and parents since they determine the future. KCPE passes influence the secondary schools the candidates join since Kenya has clustered national, extra-county, county, and sub-county schools.
Performance in KCSE determines the university or vocational training with the runaway classification of degree and diploma programmes into marketable and non-marketable courses. Like is the case across the world, STEM courses have carried the day in Kenya, but the trend is expected to change with the CBC schooling that allows learners to take different paths in their careers.
However, the CBC has had a bumpy start with questions on implementation while parents have claimed the curriculum is expensive and demands their participation, denying them time for income generating activities.
Immediately, the new government took over in September, President Ruto formed a team to assess the education sector with CBC becoming the centre of attraction in written memoranda and town hall meetings.
