KCPE results to be released by November 30

 

When President William Ruto distributed KCPE examination papers to candidates at Joseph Kange'the Primary School. [PCS]

The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination results will be released by the end of this month paving the way for secondary placements before Christmas.

The move by the Ministry of Education is meant to give parents ample time to prepare for school fees amid harsh economic times that have seen the cost of living rise.

This came as the ministry defended the credibility of the ongoing KCSE exams amid reports of malpractices in various secondary schools in the country.

According to the Basic Education Principal Secretary Dr Belio Kipsang, marking of the KCPE exam had kicked off with the results expected out in a couple of weeks.

Speaking after visiting Naivasha Girls Secondary School, the PS lauded head teachers for the work they had done during the national exams.

“We expect the results out early so that placement of students in form one can be done before Christmas to allow parents ample time to prepare,” he said.

Kipsang, at the same time, downplayed the recent cases of KCSE exam malpractices adding that only seven center managers have been suspended.

He attributed the low number of exams cheating this year to the move to collect exam papers twice a day and the support from the Ministries of Interior and ICT.

“We noticed that there was exposure of the exam materials when collected once and hence the directive to collect them twice in a day,” he said.

The PS said that the seven center managers suspended would later in the year face disciplinary measures once the exams were over.

“We have over 11,000 center managers and only seven have been suspended for malpractices meaning that our exams are very credible,” he said.

On flooding, the PS said the government had provided choppers in the affected areas mainly in Northern Kenya to assist in the distribution of the exam materials.

Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) chief executive officer Dr David Njeng’ere said that since the exams started, no single case of early exposure had been reported.

“Since 2016, we have had challenges with early exposure of exam materials but due to the new directive of collecting the exams twice a day, this has been resolved,” he said.

Naivasha sub-county commissioner Kisilu Mutua said that the area had not been affected by heavy rains, unlike other regions with the exams arriving in schools on time.

“We have added another examination container in Mai Mahiu town and we are working on the Maella area which is quite far from Naivasha,” he said.