Today, 1,303,913 Grade 6 students in Kenya started their KPSEA, short for Kenya Primary School Education Assessment. The third assessment under CBC runs from Monday to Wednesday.
Today, they begin with Mathematics and English papers, tomorrow will sit for Integrated Science and Kiswahili, while the tests will be concluded on Wednesday with Creative Arts and Social Studies.
Rehearsals for the tests were held last Friday. Schools across the country put students through rehearsals that included going through guidelines and arranging the examination rooms.
Wall charts in classrooms were taken down and desks cleaned up.
Johnson Nzioka, Chairman of the Kenya Primary Schools Heads Association, observed the calm environment that defined this year’s evaluation.
He observed a drop in the fierce competition that had defined former KCPE exams, which have been fully replaced by KPSEA under CBC.
“Our teachers are fully prepared and know what to do,” Nzioka said. “They will be the ones administering the test.” He added that KNEC has provided necessary support to all schools participating in the exercise.
KNEC called on teachers to ensure candidates have clear information about the assessment instructions, warning students of the consequences in terms of misconduct cases. “A candidate who commits an assessment irregularity will have results cancelled,” warned KNEC.
KNEC explained further that a candidate will not have a right to a result for the subject, and this would be reflected as (00).
This year marks a big change since students will not sit for KCPE exams, hence meaning full transition in the education system.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba reiterated that the government intends to see CBC aligned with higher learning institutions before the year 2029.
He challenged universities to focus on research and innovation. “We urge the universities to rise to the occasion,” Ogamba said. “They must review their curriculum to align with CBC.”
