Knec exam administration changes
The Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) has introduced changes to the procedure for collecting national examination papers, particularly for the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates. In this regard, Centre Managers and Exam Supervisors will now retrieve KCSE exams twice daily from the examination containers. Conversely, the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) papers will continue to be collected once daily, as previously practiced.
The KCSE exams are scheduled to take place from 23/10/2023 to 24/11/2023, including the Physics practical exams. KNEC CEO David Njengere has stated that a total of 1,143 containers will be used for storing examination papers, with 576 distribution centers allocated to KPSEA and KCPE papers and 567 containers designated for the distribution of KCSE papers. Additionally, to accommodate the process more effectively, 82 additional containers were acquired to serve newly created sub-counties without containers.
In an effort to safeguard the integrity of the examination papers, Education CS Ezekiel Machogu announced a change in the collection process. Papers will now be collected twice a day, in the morning and in the afternoon, instead of the previous once-a-day practice. This change is aimed at reducing the risk of papers being exposed to students before their exams, thus preventing cheating.
These changes come in response to concerns raised by the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association regarding the leakage of examination papers. Chairman Indimuli Kahi urged KNEC to ensure there would be no paper leakage in 2023 and emphasized the importance of trust in the examination process. He suggested that principals could be given a week’s worth of papers to enhance security and trust.
Also Read:KNEC Changes Tune on Collecting Exams from Container
However, Basic Education PS Belio Kipsang noted that the issue of trust is a significant challenge in Kenya, making it difficult to implement practices similar to those in other countries like Swaziland. He expressed the need to build trust between educators and students to address challenges such as student unrest and the need for armed security during national exams.
Kessha chairperson Indimuli Kahi also raised concerns about the current grading system, which includes six compulsory subjects, potentially disadvantaging students. He highlighted the merging of English grammar and literature and questioned whether this was fair to students with strengths in one but not the other.
Knec exam administration changes
