More than 1.3 million Grade 6 learners began the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) on Monday morning. Unlike during other national exams, the government has reduced police presence in classrooms.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said security officers will only accompany subjects but will not allow them to enter classrooms, to create a comfortable environment for learners.
He spoke when he opened an examination distribution container in Westlands, Nairobi. Following the assessment, learners will progress to Year 7 (Middle School) next year. Assessment is not used to determine placement in the next term but to monitor progress in their learning.
The KPSEA is organized into two parts: formative and summative. Formative assessment is school-based and weighted 60 percent in each learning area. Learners have already done this part, which has been marked by their teachers, who then submit the marks to the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec).
The current (summative) assessment will be corrected by Knec and will account for 40 percent of the total marks.
The KPSEA represents the final examination at the end of primary school under the competency-based curriculum. The last 8-4-4 class passed the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) last year, effectively phasing out the system in primary school.
“We will only have police to escort subjects to the centres. They will stay away from the centers and will only come back to take the exams and accompany them,” said Siaya Sub County Deputy Commissioner Robert Ngetich.
The province has 150 examination centers with a capacity of 13,000 learners.
Homa Bay District has 35,526 sixth grade learners currently taking the KPSEA test. Provincial Commissioner Musa Laylan said that there are 877 examination centers in the province.
“All the examination papers were sent to the centers from 14 containers in the province on Monday morning. All the candidates who registered for the examination are appearing for the examination,” he said.
Mr. Lelan said that government officials responsible for administering the examination are on high alert and prepared to deal with any challenge that may arise during the examination period.
“They have been instructed to ensure that all candidates get the opportunity to take the exams smoothly,” Lelan said.
He also directed center directors, supervisors and observers to maintain the integrity of the test by filling any gaps that might lead to malpractice.
In Nyamira, County Commissioner Erastus Mbewe and other security officers supervised the distribution of materials at the county headquarters. About 17,545 learners will be assessed. Mr Mbewe urged all those involved in the administration of the test to be careful and avoid engaging in any malpractices.
“We are all determined to ensure credible checks are carried out. “Our candidates for KPSEA are 17,545 people, of whom 9,268 are boys and 8,277 are girls,” Mr Mboi said.
In neighboring Kisii, training got underway smoothly at 968 centres. The district has 39,474 candidates.
Distribution of KPSEA materials in the Mount Kenya region began early, with some barriers reported in some counties. In Murang’a, the exercise began amid technical hurdles with some examination administrators complaining of insufficient materials. Provincial Education Director Anne Kilo said the few incidents had not resulted in any of the 624 centers failing to conduct tests.
“It is noteworthy that all our 23,382 candidates, who were scheduled to join KPSEA, have successfully commenced the exercise,” she said.
Senate Education Committee Chairman Joe Nyoto described the KPSEA as “a normal and routine exercise with no cause for concern among pupils and students,” adding that “all pupils regardless of results will proceed to Grade 7.”
In Meru, District Commissioner Jacob Ouma said all centers received their examination papers in time. In Eminiti North, Deputy District Commissioner Odelia Ndeti said all 25 examination centers had received their materials.
“We urge parents to ensure that their children reach school on time. Support candidates to ensure they are mentally stable to write their examinations,” Ms Nditi said.
Rift Valley Regional Commissioner Hassan Abdi said all examination centers in the region, including insecurity-prone parts of the North Rift, have been made safe.
He said the government had taken detailed measures to ensure the security and integrity of KPSEA and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations.
“The government has deployed adequate security measures at the examination centres, including Samburu, Elgeyo Marquete, West Pokot and Baringo areas, to ensure the process runs smoothly,” Dr Hassan stated.
He warned that anyone who tries to disrupt the exams will be dealt with firmly under the law. Dr. Hassan also banned those responsible for exams and unauthorized persons from entering schools.
“Only examination officials and security personnel will be allowed in schools. Security personnel and education officials will patrol all examination centers from morning to evening to ensure that the exercise is not disrupted.
Testing began smoothly on the Southern Rift, including Nakuru, Bomet, Kericho and Nyandarua.
On the coast, the evaluation began smoothly, with education officials noting effective coordination between the Ministries of Interior and Education. They stated that Lamu Successful Education Director Zachary Mutwiri yesterday thanked the Ministry of Interior for ensuring security at all 126 KPSEA examination centers across the county.
“Everything is in place so far. There are no hurdles as KPSEA has started well. I take this opportunity to wish all the candidates success in their examinations,” Mr Mutiri said.
Lamu County Commissioner, Wesley Koech, assured candidates, teachers and parents, especially those living in the terrorism-prone Bonny Forest, that security would be provided as the examinations continued.
“There is no reason to worry. We have ensured that all the examination centers are well guarded by our security agencies just to ensure that our candidates take their exams in a cool and conducive environment,” Mr Koech said.
Lamu County has 4,592 candidates appearing for this year’s KPSEA examination, of which 2,359 are boys and 2,233 are girls.
More girls than boys took the exam in West Pokot District, with 9,326 boys and 9,366 girls in public schools, while 630 boys and 703 girls in private schools.
There are 624 public centers and 56 private centers in the province, and the percentage of girls in the province is 50.28.
District Education Director Simon Wami and West Pokot Sub-county Commissioner Wycliffe Munanda, who supervised the opening of the examination container and distribution of examination materials in Kapenguria, said the exercise was going smoothly, despite the challenges of rainfall in the district, noting that procedures had been put in place to ensure everything went smoothly. Smoothly.
“We do not expect cheating in the exam. We will deal with those involved,” he said.
In Turkana, 17,949 candidates are sitting the exam at 419 exam centers across the county.
In Turkana Central, Deputy District Commissioner Thomas Cele supervised the opening of one of the five containers in his office and warned examination officials against committing examination malpractices to help candidates cheat.
In Baringo, 17,905 learners are sitting for the national examination at 758 centres, with security measures enhanced to allow candidates to complete their papers without interruption.
“We have put appropriate measures in place to ensure learners complete the exam without any hiccups. We are working closely with the multi-agency team, the Ministry of Education and the security team as well,” said District Commissioner Stephen Kutwa.
He noted the relative calm in areas that usually suffer from insecurity for several months, adding that local residents are now continuing their normal activities.
“We do not expect any challenges in insecurity-prone areas because life has returned to normal and no cases of banditry or stock theft have been reported in recent months.
(Reporting by Eric Matara, Waikwa Maina, Vitalis Kimutai, David Moshi, Callum Kazungu, Mwangi Muiruri, Kassim Adenase, Wycliffe Nyabire, George Odior, Oscar Kakai, Sammy Lota, Flora Kuech and Evans Jawla)
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