A total of 1,287,597 Grade 6 learners who began their Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) on Monday will transit to Grade 7 in January next year.
The national enrollment for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Examination for this year stands at 1,244,188 as those expected to sit for their KCSE exams is 884,263.
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has assured Kenyans that the government will deliver credible national examinations for Grade 6, class eight and form four candidates.
Machogu said the debate on the placement of the Grade Six students to junior secondary will be settled by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms.
This is after parents, teachers and educators have differed on whether Grade Seven learners should be placed in primary or secondary schools under the Competence Based Curriculum (CBC).
“The committee is expected to make its initial report public in the first week of December,” he said.
He asked parents to remain calm saying come next year the President will have made an announcement on where the junior secondary schools will be domiciled.
The previous administration had built 10,000 new classrooms within secondary schools countrywide in readiness for the placement of junior secondary school learners.
However, there has been discussion from parents and educationists on whether the young learners should transit to the schools or just remain in their former primary schools.
The CS assured parents that there are enough classes to accommodate the students in both secondary and primary schools.
While exams are ongoing, the CS said that the government has made all necessary preparations including training invigilators, supervisors, center managers and security personnel on what they are supposed to do.
“As per the preparations we made this year, we do not expect to have a single case of malpractice anywhere within the country. We are sure that everything will run on smoothly,” said Machogu.
He noted that every center will get the examination material on time as they have provided adequate transportation even to places that are not easily accessible like Tana River and North Eastern.
The CS noted that there are 493 distribution centers in the country with over 20,000 examination centers where students are taking their exams.
Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage Cabinet Secretary Peninah Malonza said the process started off smoothly and no leakages witnessed at the container level.
She noted that no student will be allowed to carry phones in examination rooms saying that only center managers will be allowed to carry phones inside. “I believe that our children have prepared well for the time they were in class and we have trained personnel thus all shall be well,” she said.
Schools closed for the December holidays on November 25 and are expected to open on January 23, 2023 according to the school calendar issued by the Ministry of Education.
Malonza asked parents to be responsible for their children during the holiday season. She also asked the students to uphold good manners while at home and avoid behaviors that will affect their studies.