2017 school term dates out as exams begin

One of the containers loaded with Examination papers. The container is under tight security at Uhuru Ni Kazi building in Mombasa. Kenya certificate of Primary Education and Kenya certificate of Secondary Education start on 1st and 7th October respectively. 23rd October 2016. Photo Omondi Onyango/Standard

Form Four exam candidates begin their practical papers this morning as the national examiner enforces strict measures to prevent cheating.

And next year’s school calendar released by authorities to reflect the General Election due on August 8, 2017, has sparked controversy, with a union saying it was not consulted.

The Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) is pulling out all the stops to ensure that this year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KSCE)exams do not leak as has been the case in previous years.

On Saturday, Knec chairman George Magoha met sub-county education officers and sub-county commissioners at the Kenya School of Government for a briefing on the administration of the national exams.

The briefing included how 346 strong, double-lock metal containers distributed in all sub-counties to store exam papers and answer scripts will be manned.

Prof Magoha handed every sub-county education officer a padlock and key separate from the set handed to sub-county commissioners, making it mandatory for both to be present when the containers are opened.

School heads will collect exam papers from the containers at 5am every day. The containers must be opened jointly by the two officials in the presence of a police officer.

In the past, exam papers have been kept in the Knec offices in Nairobi and dispatched to police armouries across the country, sometimes up to four days earlier. This arrangement was said to facilitate leaks.

Magoha further said the officers should at no point delegate the responsibility of managing the containers to their juniors.

Yesterday, the officials received French, German, Music, Kenya Sign Language and Home Science practical papers to be done this morning.

Today’s KCSE practical assessments comes ahead of written examinations that will begin on November 7 and end on November 30.

Standard Eight candidates will sit their exams for three days from November 1.

Some 1.5 million candidates are set to write the examinations this year. Of these, 952,445 will sit KCPE while 577,079 will do KCSE.

Meanwhile, next year’s General Election is threatening to pose a major hiccup to learning as stakeholders struggle to accommodate major polls timelines.

The Ministry of Education on Friday released 2017 term dates for schools and colleges, which partly addressed disruptions of the August 8 polls as posed on the country’s learning calendar.

Unlike the 2013 polls held in March, next year’s elections are likely to disrupt learning in all the three terms, especially in the event of a run-off 30 days after the polls.

According to the ministry, primary and secondary schools will open for first term on January 4, 2017, and run for 14 weeks before closing on April 7.

The second term will run from May 2 to August 4, just three days to the elections.

And in its General Election timelines, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has said political parties will be required to conclude their party primaries by April 20, 2017.

In the event that parties carry their primaries before the end of first term, it will disrupt learning in public schools that serve as polling stations.

In addition, the euphoria that comes with elections poses serious threats to learning.

Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang said there was wide consultation in coming up with the dates, insisting that they must be adhered to.

But Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Secretary General Wilson Sossion dismissed the dates released by the Ministry of Education, stating that the union was not consulted.

Mr Sossion accused Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i of making unilateral decisions without engaging Knut, which he said was a key stakeholder in the education sector.

He opposed the dates, saying that 14 weeks for the first and second terms was too long, while nine weeks for third term was too short.

Third term is scheduled to start on August 28 and end on October 27.

Apart from using public schools as polling centres, IEBC always hire teachers as polling officials, and they are supposed to have training a few days before the elections.

SCHOOL CALENDER

Next year’s KCPE exams are set for October 30 to November 3, while KCSE exams will be conducted between November 6 and 30.

National Parents Association chairman Nicholas Maiyo said schools should close two weeks before the polls to avoid disruption of learning.

AndKenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers Secretary General Akello Misori said the dates should consider the fact that 2017 is an election year and teachers would be involved.

Mr Misori said the ministry should reconsider reducing the time for first and second term, saying 14 weeks were too long for primary and secondary school learners.