Inaugural KPSEA, KCSE exams to start as schools close for holiday

Kenya National Examinations Council CEO David Njengere addresses a past press conference. [File, Standard

Schools will from this week close as focus shifts to this year’s national examination and assessments.

This year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam will begin on Tuesday next week, October 22, and run for a month, concluding on November 22.

The Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), which is part of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), will be administered between October 28 and November 1.

A total of 965,501 candidates will sit for KCSE in 10,755 exam centres, while 1,303,913 candidates will participate in the KPSEA across 35,573 centres nationwide.

President William Ruto announced on Thursday that all preparations for the KCSE and the KPSEA are complete ahead of next week’s national assessments.

“All the necessary materials are ready, while the appointment of supervisors and invigilators has been finalised. The ministries of Education and Interior have been directed to ensure that the security and integrity of the examinations are not compromised,” the President said in a tweet after meeting with education sector officials.

President Ruto was briefed on the final arrangements for the 2024 KCSE and KPSEA examinations by key education stakeholders, including Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang, and Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) CEO David Njengere.

The meeting marked the final stages of preparation for the exams, which will be sat by more than two million candidates.

The Standard has established that examiners taking part in this year’s examination on Thursday completed a mandatory sensitisation exercise that began on October 7.

The administration of these exams will involve a total of 246,151 field officers, including 103,125 for KCSE and 143,026 for KPSEA.

These officers will serve as centre managers, supervisors, invigilators, security personnel, and drivers, ensuring the smooth conduct of the exams. Knec has also contracted 32,480 examiners for the marking process, which is set to take place in November and December.

Supervisors and invigilators will rotate between schools to minimise the risk of exam malpractice, and for the first time, personalised question papers will be issued with each student’s name and index number printed on them.

While launching the exam season in early October, KNEC’s CEO David Njengere said all exam officials will be required to surrender their mobile phones at the beginning of each exam session to prevent potential leaks.

“These phones will be kept in lockable desks under the supervision of a security officer, and the key will remain with the centre supervisor,” Njengere said.

To further ensure transparency, all exam officials must declare any conflicts of interest.

Teachers serving as invigilators or supervisors will not be deployed to schools where they currently work, have worked in the past, or where they have family ties, according to guidelines from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).

This year’s KPSEA marks a historic shift in Kenya’s primary education system, as students will no longer sit for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam.

For the first time in 39 years, primary schools will adopt KPSEA, which is designed to evaluate students’ progress under the CBC and facilitate their transition to Junior Secondary School.

CS Julius Ogamba said the KPSEA will offer a more relaxed examination environment compared to the high-stakes KCPE, with a focus on competency-based assessment.

Ogamba noted that the changes are part of broader efforts to ensure students’ skills and knowledge are effectively monitored as they move through the education system.