All systems go as KPSEA exams start today

 

The Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) examinations are set to begin on Monday (today).

The assessment, which is part of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), will be administered between October 28 and October 30, 2024.

Over 1.2 million Grade 6 learners are expected to sit for the exams across 35,573 centres in the country.

Some 143,026 officers will be involved in the administration of KPSEA exams.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba supervised the distribution of KPSEA papers at the Kenya National Examinations Council’s Container in Westlands, Nairobi.

On Monday, candidates will sit for the mathematics paper in the morning, which will be followed by the English paper in mid-morning.

On the second day, candidates will sit for the Integrated Science paper in the morning and Kiswahili/Kenyan Sign Language in mid-morning.

On the last day, candidates will sit for the Creative Arts and Social Studies paper in the morning.

According Basic Education PS, Belio Kipsang, there will be no strict invigilation and candidates will be allowed to do the assessment in a free environment with their teachers.

“We won’t have the usual heavy policing for KPSEA because we think our teachers are able to do it having successfully handled the class-based assessment,” Kipsang said during avisit to Kimalel Primary in Eldoret.

He said the learners would subjected to a 40 per cent summative assessment because they had already gone through a 60 per cent class-based assessment.

Kipsang said a recent assessment had proved that the teachers were properly handling the progression of the learners in capturing the competences, values and skills as per the CBC programme.

“All our learners have different capacities and potentials which we are working to develop in them. All we are doing through KPSEA is to monitor their progress as they move to the next level of Grade 7,” Kipsang said.

He said the system would eliminate certificates and put in place assessment reports.

“We will have a report that goes to the child, another one to the school and a third one to the government to inform policy formulation,” the PS explained.

by BRIAN ORUTA