More than 1.3 million learners in Grade 6 started their Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) on Monday morning. Unlike during administration of other national tests, the government has scaled down police presence inside the classrooms.
Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Julius Ogamba said security officers will only escort the materials but will not be allowed to enter the classrooms, to create a relaxed environment for the learners.
He spoke when he opened the examination distribution container in Westlands, Nairobi. After the assessment, the learners will progress to Grade 7 (junior secondary school) next year. The assessment is not used for placement in the next class but to monitor progress of their learning.
KPSEA is organised in two parts: formative and summative. The formative assessment is school-based and is weighted at 60 percent in every learning area. The learners have already done this part, which was marked by their respective teachers, who then submitted the marks to the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec).
The current (summative) assessment will be marked by Knec and will account for 40 percent of the total marks.
KPSEA marks the last examination at the end of the primary school cycle under the Competency-Based Curriculum. The last 8-4-4 class did the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) last year, effectively phasing out the system in primary school.
“We shall have the police only escort the materials to stations. They will stay away from the centres and will only return to pick the exams and escort them,” Siaya Sub-County Deputy County Commissioner Robert Ngetich said.
The county has 150 examination centres with 13,000 learners.
Homa Bay County has 35,526 Grade 6 learners who are currently undertaking the KPSEA. County Commissioner Moses Lilan said there are 877 examination centres in the county.
“All exam papers were dispatched to the centres from 14 containers in the county on Monday morning. All candidates, who registered for the exam, are sitting the test,” he said.
Mr Lilan said government officials responsible for manning the examination are on high alert and ready to deal with any challenge that will arise during the exam period.
“They have been instructed to ensure all candidates are given an opportunity to undertake the exams smoothly,” Mr Lilan said.
He also instructed centre managers, supervisors and invigilators to maintain the integrity of the test by sealing any loopholes that can lead to malpractice.
In Nyamira, County Commissioner Erastus Mbui and other security officers oversaw the distribution of materials at the county headquarters. Some 17,545 learners will be assessed. Mr Mbui urged all those involved in administration of the test to exercise caution and avoid engaging in any malpractice.
“We are all determined to ensure credible examinations. Our candidates for KPSEA are 17,545, which comprises 9,268 boys and 8,277 girls,” Mr Mbui said.
In neighbouring Kisii, the exercise kicked off smoothly across 968 centres. The county has 39,474 candidates.
The distribution of KPSEA materials in the Mt Kenya region kicked off early, with some hitches reported in some counties. In Murang’a, the exercise began amid technical hitches as some exam managers complained about inadequate materials. County Director of education Ann Kiilu said the few mishaps did not result in any of the 624 centres failing to roll out the exams.
“All of our 23,382 candidates, who were slated to sit the KPSEA, are indicated to have successfully commenced the exercise,” she said.
Senate Education Committee chairperson Joe Nyutu termed KPSEA “a normal and routine exercise that needs not worry pupils and students,” adding that “all pupils regardless of results will proceed to Grade 7”.
In Meru, County Commissioner Jacob Ouma said all centres had received their examination papers in time. In Imenti North, deputy county commissioner Odilia Ndeti said all 25 examination centres had received their materials.
“We urge parents to ensure their children arrive in school on time. Support the candidates to ensure they are mentally stable to write their exams,” Ms Ndeti said.
Rift Valley Regional Commissioner Hassan Abdi said all the examination centres in the region, including insecurity-prone parts of the North Rift, were secure.
He said the government had put in place elaborate measures to ensure the security and integrity of the KPSEA and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations.
“The government has deployed adequate security at examination centres, including the areas of Samburu, Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot, and Baringo, to ensure the exercise runs smoothly,” Dr Hassan stated.
He warned that anyone attempting to disrupt the examinations will be dealt with firmly under the law. Dr Hassan also banned non-examination officers and unauthorised persons from setting foot in schools.
“Only examination officers and security personnel will be allowed in schools. Security personnel and education officers will patrol all examination centres from morning to evening to ensure nobody disrupts the exercise.”
The examination started smoothly in the South Rift, including Nakuru, Bomet, Kericho and Nyandarua.
On the Coast, the assessment commenced smoothly, with education officers noting that the ministries of Interior and Education had coordinated effectively. They stated that the successful Lamu Education Director Zachary Mutuiri yesterday thanked the Ministry of Interior for ensuring security in all the 126 KPSEA examination centres across the county.
“Everything is in place so far. There are no hitches as KPSEA commenced well. I take this opportunity to wish all the candidates success in their exam,” Mr Mutuiri said.
Lamu County Commissioner Wesley Koech assured the candidates, teachers and parents, especially those in the terror-prone Boni Forest, of security as the examinations continue.
“There’s no cause for alarm. We’ve ensured all the examination centres are well guarded by our security agencies just to ensure our candidates do their tests in a cool, favourable environment,” Mr Koech said.
Lamu County has 4,592 candidates sitting this year’s KPSEA examination, comprising 2,359 boys and 2,233 girls.
There are more girls than boys sitting the exam in West Pokot County, out of whom 9,326 are boys and 9,366 girls in public schools, while 630 boys and 703 girls are in private schools.
The county has 624 public centres and 56 private centres, and the percentage of girls in the county is 50. 28.
County Director of Education Simon Wamae and West Pokot Sub-County Commissioner Wycliffe Munanda, who presided over the opening of exam container and exam materials distribution in Kapenguria, said the exercise was going on smoothly, despite challenges of downpour in the county, noting that measures had been put in place to ensure everything ran smoothly.
“We don’t expect cheating in the exam. We shall deal with those involved,” he said.
In Turkana, 17,949 candidates are sitting the exam at 419 examination centres across the county.
In Turkana Central, Deputy County Commissioner Thomas Siele supervised the opening of one of the five containers at his office and warned examination officials against perpetrating examination malpractice to help candidates cheat.
In Baringo, 17,905 learners are sitting the national examination in 758 centres, with security beefed up to allow candidates to complete their papers uninterrupted.
“We have put in place proper measures to ensure the learners complete the examination with no hitches. We are working closely with the multi-agency team, the Ministry of Education, and the security team as well,” County Commissioner Stephen Kutwa said.
He noted relative calm in the areas usually plagued by insecurity for several months, adding that locals were now going on with their normal activities.
“We are not expecting any challenges in the insecurity-prone areas because normalcy has returned and no cases of banditry or stock theft have been reported in recent months.
Reporting by Eric Matara, Waikwa Maina, Vitalis Kimutai, David Muchui, Kalume Kazungu, Mwangi Muiruri, Kassim Adinasi, Wycliffe Nyaberi, George Odiwuor, Oscar Kakai, Sammy Lutta, Flora Koech and Evans Jaola
