New era for primary schools as new exam bids farewell to KCPE

A Class 8 pupil at Nyali School praying before starting his KCPE paper at the institution during the second day of the exam in Mombasa County on October 2023. [Kelvin Karani, Standard]

In about a month, Kenya will be bidding goodbye to the nearly four-decade-old Kenya Certificate of Primary Education Examination (KCPE).

Some 1,303,913 Grade Six candidates will seat the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), effectively replacing KCPE which was the primary school leaving test.

Unlike KCPE which was a cutthroat affair and led to a scramble for placement slots in secondary schools, the new KPSEA has been designed to monitor learners' progress and as they transition to junior secondary school.

The assessment that will be administered across 35,573 centres will usher in a new era, as KCPE came to an end last year.

Despite being the third KPSEA assessment, it will be the first to be conducted solely. Previously, the KPSEA assessment, under the new 2-6-6-3 system, was administered as 8-4-4 candidates sat KCPE.

For the first time in 39 years, candidates in primary schools will not sit KCPE.  And the assessment environment, unlike that of KCPE examinations, has been relaxed. The new exam will not require the presence of armed police officers.

Deployment of armed police was linked to the high stakes placed on KCPE and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (KCSE) leading to cheating and other malpractices as candidates aimed for top grades.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, while launching the exam season last week announced that there would be no security officers manning schools when the test is in progress.

Instead, the officers will only be involved in transporting examination materials from the collection point to the schools and back.

“The security officers will not be present in the assessment centres as the test continues, they will only be involved in transporting exam materials,” Ogamba said.

Ogamba announced that for KPSEA assessments there will be no fanfare while releasing results.

“This is in the spirit of the Competency-Based Curriculum that is intended to reduce cutthroat competition that has always been associated with national examinations,” Ogamba said.

Another notable change is the abolition of external invigilators and supervisors who will be replaced with classroom teachers. 

Kenya National Examinations Council Chief Executive David Njengere said this shift aims to foster a more personalised and supportive learning environment.

“The assessment will focus on assessing students’ learning progress and providing feedback to both students and teachers. This move aims to create a less stressful and more focused learning environment, allowing students to develop their skills and knowledge without the constant pressure of exams,” Njengere said in an interview.

Some 965,501 candidates will take this year’s KCSE exam in 10,755 centres.

In total, 2,279,414 candidates will be tested this year.

The administration of KCSE will involve 103,125 field officers, while KPSEA 143,026 officers.