A good number of Grade 4 and Standard 8 pupils missed the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) assessment that kicked off on Wednesday.
School heads have blamed the government of failing to fund the purchasing of materials. They have complained of the high cost of downloading and printing the voluminous materials, particularly for class Eight candidates who are to be tested in all subjects.
Schools are required to come up with their timetables for the tests, which conclude on Friday. Scores of the internally marked assessments will later be uploaded on the Knec portal.
It is assumed that some learners might have dropped out of school during the Covid-19 closure period mostly due to marriages, pregnancies, and child labour.
For instance, at Moi Avenue Primary School in Nairobi, Ms Ruth Chepkorir, the headteacher, noted that her staff are doing a lot of efforts in tracing children who have not reported to the school.
Schools with no financial capacity to print and photocopy test materials were forced to compel learners to pay for the cost while in some schools teachers have used money from their pockets to meet the school demands since March.
Some headteachers claim that the government only released 20 per cent rather than 30 per cent of the funds noting that the funds were not enough. Each learner was allocated Ksh137.40 to run through the whole term.
Kenya National Examination Council says the evaluation is intended to check the learners’ readiness in classwork. It aims at distinguishing learning hiatuses and inform appropriate interventions.
Moi Avenue Primary School in Nairobi assessed standard 8 candidates as Grade 4 learners are set to begin their examinations today.
In some schools like Pandi Pieri Primary School in Kisumu, 20 pupils did not turn up for reopening as they were transferred to other institutions hence were not assessed at the school.
Tests delay cases were reported in several Vihiga and Homa Bay Counties as heads had to travel or walk to printing firms to receive materials from
Schools adhered to the Ministry of Health guidelines by ensuring social distance in examination rooms. High Peak Junior Academy only allowed ten learners in the assessment room to meet health protocols.
