Parents' uproar over ministry's 'opaque' release of KPSEA results

Grade 6 KPSEA candidates at Wangige Primary School in Kiambu pray before the start of the exam on October 30, 2023. [Boniface Okendo, Standard] Kenya National Examination Council announced the release of KPSEA results through its X platform. By yesterday evening, several parents and school heads were unaware that the results were out. Standard Team A section of parents across the country have criticised the Ministry of Education over what they described as ''opaque'' release of the 2024 Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA). By yesterday evening, several parents and school heads were still unaware that the results had been released and were accessible through a portal provided by the ministry. They accused the ministry of mismanaging national examinations and results. The Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) announced the release of KPSEA results through its X platform. As has been the norm since KPSEA started three years ago, the results have been uploaded on the Competency Based Assessment (CBA) portal for schools to access. The 1.3 million candidates, who sat the KPSEA, have already transited to junior secondary school were the first class to take the tests without the accompanying Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) last administered in 2023. "The 2024 KPSEA reports are ready and have been uploaded on the CBA portal. Schools that presented candidates for the assessment are advised to log into the portal and access the learner-specific reports," KPSEA, which is a summative assessment taken at Grade 6, is primarily for monitoring learners' progress and providing feedback to stakeholders. Unlike KCPE under the 8-4-4 education system, KPSEA is not used to decide transition to junior secondary schools, which has also put an end to the ranking of learners and cutthroat competition to join revered institutions. With no Form One class, this year gives a glimpse of what a comprehensive school covering Grades 1 to 9 will look like, now that the pioneer class Competency Based Curriculum(CBC) is in Grade 9. Unlike the past where the release of KCPE results was characterised by pomp and colour, KPSEA only requires a simple log in to the CBA portal to obtain a learner's report. This has seen the doing away of the national event previously held at KNEC headquarters to release the results. The release of the results came as education stakeholders in Nyanza claimed that the sector and implementation of CBC is headed for uncertain times. "CBC implementation has failed and the future of our children undergoing this curriculum is oblique. Most of them are being taught by teachers who have not been trained effectively on CBC implementation," Evance Oloo, a parent in Homa Bay County said. He urged the government to return the previous curriculum to enable Kenya to have qualified professionals in future. "CBC implementation has failed in Kenya. I urge the government to return to 8-4-4 curriculum," Oloo said. The Co-ordinator of Homa Bay County Education Network Julius Omuga said the government was trying to seal loopholes which occurred in the KPSEA exams. Omuga argued that the examination had many loopholes which included inadequate preparations of candidates. "The government released the results quietly to seal the loopholes which occurred in the exams. The examination was marred by various issues," Omuga said. "The government is only interested in pushing children to complete education without considering their performance. That is why they want the pupils to go to Grade 7 whether they passed the examination or not," Omuga said. In Mount Kenya region, a section of parents claimed they were unaware the results had been released. "It is unfortunate how the ministry is handling the KPSEA results. Those with learners in rural areas are not even aware the results are out ," said Mercy Nyawira, a resident of Meru. Some parents described the manner in which the results were released as an indication that the government is not prepared to handle CBC well. "We are seeing a situation where the government is proving to Kenyans that it is not prepared to implement the CBC," said Raphael Welimo, a parent from Kakamega County. Welimo added that many parents do not know how to check for the results in the CBC portal. "The government wants to mess with our education system and I must question the leadership of our CS for education. We cannot allow the government to play around with the lives of our children," said Welimo. Patrick Chungani, the KNUT Western Region Chapter Security, accused the government of working in secrecy without involving the key stakeholders in the education sector in the release of the KPSEA results. "Things are being done quietly and many of us have been kept in the dark. The way the government is operating is worrying because we didn't know the results were released. "How do you open the schools before releasing KPSEA results and yet expect learners who are supposed to use the results to join Grade 7 to be comfortable? This is unpreparedness of the highest order, we don't have enough classrooms for Grade 9. The government should consult widely with stakeholders. It is never too late to go back to the drawing board to make things right," said Chungani. The exams covered a range of subjects, including Mathematics, English, Integrated Science, Kiswahili, Creative Arts, and Social Studies All the 1,303,913 candidates who sat for KPSEA across 35,573 centres countrywide will transition to Grade 7, which is still domiciled within their respective primary schools. According to Nyanza region Parents' Association Chairman Jackson Ogweno, the decision to release the results quietly caught many by surprise. "We are happy that the results were released but the way it was done really caught us by surprise that's unusual." In Mombasa, some parents said the move was a 'ceremonial exercise' as Grade 7 and 9 students had already reported to school.. Unlike during the release of the defunct KCPE, there were no celebrations in schools for students who performed well. Light Academy, a school at the Coast that recorded stellar performance in KCPE, had 41 students with 76 per cent exceeding expectations, 16 per cent meeting expectations, five per cent approaching expectations and the remaining three per cent falling below expectations in the KPSEA e Science and Technology had 98 per cent of candidates exceeding expectations and two per cent meeting expectations in the institution. Mathematics had 95 per cent of leaners exceeding expectations. However, with Integrated Science which includes Agriculture and Nutrition, only 10 per cent of the leaners exceeded expectations in nutrition with 88 per cent meeting expectations. Agriculture however had 88 per cent of learners surpassing the intended mark and 12 per cent passing the exam. Report by Irene Githinji, Benard Lusigi, Clinton Ambujo, Ishaq Jumbe, Phares Mutembei and James Omoro

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