2020 National examinations out of the norm

The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) 2020 has commenced this morning.

Owing to the disruption of the old academic calendar by the Covid-19 pandemic,  the exams are being sat in March as opposed to the traditional November date.

Opening an exam cargo container in Thika this morning, Education CS George Magoha said: "I ask everyone to pray for children because this is the first time in history, they are sitting for their exams out of their normal calendar as has been over the years."

Comfort Patrick, an index 1 candidate at Utafiti Day and boarding primary school in Kibwezi , Makueni county. [Picture, Standard]

Prof said only two students in the county will write this year’s exams from hospital beds after they were involved in an accident.

Every candidate is expected to put on face masks while in the examination room and regularly wash their hands to protect themselves from the virus.

In the past years, KCPE exams rehearsals would take place on a Monday and the examinations would begin on Tuesday then end on Thursday mid-morning.

This norm has since been broken in the 2020 KCPE exams which will see some 1,187,517 candidates examined.

The examinations that commenced this morning end on Wednesday. Rehearsals were done last Friday.

On Thursday 751,150 Form Four candidates begin their national exams (KCSE) which run for three weeks.

Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. George Magoha inspects seating arrangement at Thika School for the Blind on March 22,2021 when class eight candidates began their nationwide exams.(Denish Ochieng, Standard)