By Roy Hezron
A total of 1.2 million Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) candidates commenced their KCPE examination on March 22, 2021 in more than 10,000 examination centres countrywide.
A total of 479 examination papers containers across the country were opened at 6am ahead of the distribution exercise with senior Ministry of Education officials and other government agencies overseeing the exercise in different counties across the country which is expected to take three days up to Wednesday March 24, 2021.
Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. George Magoha who was in Thika to oversee the exercise expressed confidence that the exercise would proceed seamlessly.
“The students are very well prepared, the examination was also prepared taking that into consideration, all government agencies are here and as you can see, it is all systems go, all the 479 examination containers were opened today at 6am across the country,” said Prof. Magoha
However, there was confusion during the opening of the containers in Thika after several teachers arrived late for the exercise, long after CS Magoha had arrived.
“There was a slight hiccup today but it does not involve the integrity of the examinations, some teachers did not arrive on time, we are going to ensure that this is solved and teachers arrive by 6am,” added Prof. Magoha
During the exercise, CS Magoha sounded a warning to schools that had collected money from students but failed to register them for the examinations saying they would face the full wrath of the law.
He, however, said the students would still be allowed to sit for the examinations as the government had met the costs for the National examinations for all candidates.
Prof. Magoha further cautioned against examination malpractices saying stern action will be taken against any school, teacher, or even the ministry’s senior officials found to be engaging in the vice.
The pupils will be sitting their papers after a 7-month break from school occasioned by the outbreak of coronavirus which was reported in the country in early March 2020.
According to CS Magoha, the students appear to have recovered from the long school break and are adequately prepared to sit for their papers.
The KNEC assessment report which was released early February this year just one month prior to beginning of KCPE examination revealed serious levels of unpreparedness for the more than one million candidates set to sit their final examination.
The learning assessment conducted in October last year after the Grade Four and KCPE candidates resumed after the long Covid-19 break was meant to gauge their preparedness for the final examination.
According to the assessment report released by KNEC, showed most candidates failed to attain the minimum benchmark of 50 per cent in most of the subjects assessed.
During the launch of examination period and issuing of container security padlocks at Kenya School of Government on March 4, 2021, Prof. Magoha announced that all preparations for the National examinations including COVID-19 protocols were in place.
Prof. Magoha urged everyone who will be involved in the examinations administration to strictly comply with the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 protocols, which he said the ministry has been enforcing in schools since the resumption of studies.
“This year is, however, much different from the previous year’s given that we are operating in the Covid-19 era,” noted Prof. Magoha.
The CS emphasized that no Centre Manager should turn up at any examination container to collect or drop off examinations without wearing a face mask.
In addition, all officials who attend to services at the examination centres will be expected to use sanitizers or wash their hands before being allowed to handle examination materials.
At examination centres, all examination officials will have to wash their hands or sanitize before they can open examination scripts for distribution to candidates.
All examination officials are also required to regularly use sanitizer or wash their hands before frisking candidates ahead of the start of examination sittings.
“To this end, I urge all of us to be mindful of our candidates, some of whom are in one way or the other affected by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. We must all take cognizant of the environment of the 2020 examinations and give hope to all candidates by assuring them that none of them will be disadvantaged in the examination process,” said Prof. Magoha during the event.
