Over 960,000 students to sit KCSE exams from Tuesday

Over 960,000 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KSCE) candidates are set to begin their exams beginning Tuesday.

French, German, Sign Language, Arabic, Music and Home Science will dominate the first week of this year's KCSE examinations, set to commence across the 10,755 exam centres across the country.

At the Kereri Girls High School in Kisii, the environment is set for the first batch of students to take their exam, with the school’s management expressing optimism that the over 800 candidates have been adequately prepared.

However, education stakeholders have raised concerns over the poor state of the road network, which might harbour the transportation of examination materials in good time.

“The collapse of this bridge in Nyamache may hinder the smooth collection of exam papers, this bridge has taken more than a year to get reconstructed,” said Dr Samuel Siringi, the chair of Bobasi Professionals.

In Murang’a County, preparations to ensure the over 31,000 candidates in the county go about their exams uninterrupted are complete.

Ann Kiilu, the county director of education, says unauthorised access to exam centres will be dealt with in accordance with the law. She spoke at the Kiangunyi Girls High School during the school’s prayer day.

“We want to promise the parents that we are going to deliver a credible examination and we are calling upon all parents wherever they are to just pray for our candidates,” she said.

Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General Collins Oyuu said: “For those who are invigilating exams, taking it upon yourselves as if you are invigilating learners who have gone through hell trying to make their future.”

“Let us be kind enough and make sure what we do is within the common and acceptable practices within invigilation and supervision of exams.”

But bearing recent instances where teachers and their learners alike have been ambushed while learning is in progress in insecurity-prone areas, KNUT is calling on the government to heighten security in these areas, to ensure exams run smoothly.

“We ask the government to ensure that areas that don’t have security, teachers and learners are kept safe,” Oyuu said.

“For the sake of doing these exams or carrying out these exams in the best and most acceptable with a lot of security and peace, we wouldn’t like to see commotions during this time.”

The Ministry of Education on October 4 released new guidelines that will guide this year's assessment, key among them the rotation of centre supervisors who will not be allowed to sit at an examination centre for more than a week; their mobile phones as well as those of the invigilators remaining at a secured location away from exam rooms; as well as candidates having personalised question papers.

The KCSE exam will run concurrently with the KPSEA assessment that begins on October 28, with more than a million candidates expected to sit the assessment.