As the national examinations dates draw near, the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) on Friday issued updates ahead of the commencement of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and the Kenya Primary School Assessment (KPSEA).
Speaking during a KNEC forum, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba disclosed that this year’s papers will be slightly different including new features.
For instance, the papers will include candidate details in a pre-printed format as part of the measures employed to curb examination malpractice.
The CS noted the papers will feature the respective names of students, their index numbers and even schools.
“We have implemented several innovations that will be in place this year, these innovations include personalised question papers for the KCSE examinations where the candidates’ names will be pre-printed in the question papers,” CS Ogamba stated.
Education CS Julius Migos speaking at ICP World Convention hosted by KESSHA, August 20, 2024.
Photo
EduMin
Features of Exam Papers
According to KNEC, the first page of the KCSE exams will have the pre-printed details of all candidates of a particular examination centre. The front page of the paper has two sections, the upper part and the lower part.
The upper section of the front page of the exam paper will contain the personal details of the students such as the candidate’s name, index number, centre code and centre name. It will also have a candidate’s signature section where the student will be required to append their signature.
According to KNEC officials, KPSEA will come in a green package while the KCSE exams will be distributed in blue packages.
Updates
The education minister while addressing the delegates, further revealed that the examination collection problem experienced in the previous year after students completed writing their papers had been addressed through the introduction of 41 additional containers.
According to the CS, the addition of 41 containers would minimise the distance covered by the centre managers when picking up and returning the papers to collection points.
To ensure that the students are accorded a conducive environment as they prepare for the exams, the CS directed school principals to stop further visits by parents to schools.
“There are clear instructions and circulars that do not have any activities in schools this term as we allow students to prepare for their exams,” CS Ogamba stated.
The CS cautioned that the government would have no mercy on anyone found engaging in examinations malpractices. “When we compromise our examination, we compromise the standards of our certificates,” the education minister cautioned.
This year, the government is set to administer the KCSE examinations to 965,501 candidates in 10,565 centres and the KPSEA examinations to 1,303,913 candidates in 35,573 centres, bringing the total to 2,279,414 candidates across the country.
A photo collage of students sitting for exams and a KCSE certificate.
Photo
Godfrey Munanga
