KNEC Introduces New Exam Papers Pickup Strategies to Curb Early Exposure to KCPE, KCSE Examinations
The National Assembly’s Education Committee, which visited the New Mitihani House yesterday, was pleased with the council’s preparations for the upcoming examinations and the measures taken to prevent cheating.
Committee chairman Julius Melly stated that the use of social media would be closely monitored to prevent the dissemination of false information that could jeopardize the examination procedure.
The Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) has also introduced new security measures to curb cheating during this year’s national exams.
Teachers Updates reports that the exam officials will no longer collect all exam papers for the day in the morning.
The center administrators, who are also the heads of the schools, will only pick up the morning papers.
The examination officials will return the completed morning papers to the container before selecting the afternoon papers.
Ministry of Education insiders say the measure is intended to prevent students from accessing afternoon papers too early.
“They will no longer have so much time with afternoon examination questions, as they will be stored in a container and retrieved only minutes before the exam,” said a ministry official.
In addition, the current practice requiring examination officials to collect question papers from containers within their subcounties will be reviewed.
Officials of schools and examination centers will be required to retrieve examination questions from the closest receptacle.
This is due to the fact that it has come to light that some schools located near certain storage containers have been unable to retrieve examinations from these storage facilities because they do not fall within the sub-county.
KNEC will acquire additional containers to transport storage facilities for examinations to schools.
According to insiders, this will reduce the time required to collect and drop off examination papers under the new arrangement.
Three months before national examinations, these are some of the new measures being implemented.
Approximately 1,4 million candidates will sit for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), according to data released by Knec at the conclusion of registration.
An additional 1.2 million sixth-grade students will take the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA).
Approximately 903,260 students will take the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination this year.
According to the Knec 2023 exam timetable, KCPE and KPSEA candidates will practice on Friday, October 27, 2023.
The concurrent three-day examinations are scheduled to begin on Monday, October 30.
They will conclude on November 1, making way for the KCSE examination, which will be administered between November 2 and November 24.
Exam malpractice causes sleepless nights for government agencies, each of which engages in a game of blame.
Officials from the education ministry have identified the police as the weakest link in examination administration.
Additionally, the Director of Criminal Investigation has been accused of conducting inadequate investigations that cannot support prosecution.
The ODPP and Judiciary accuse the investigators of failing to provide sufficient evidence for prosecution.
The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) also accuses the Judiciary of shielding cybercriminals who construct and operate sites used to facilitate cheating.
And CA has been criticized for not acting swiftly to remove websites that sell phony exam materials.
Three months prior to the exams, preparations are in full swing, despite the blame games.
Officials from the examination have visited the printer to verify the preparation procedures.
Yesterday, the Education Committee of the National Assembly toured the New Mitihani House to evaluate its construction progress and readiness for the national exams, which begin at the end of next month.
During an earlier meeting, Dr. David Njeng’ere stated, “It’s a shame that a building that was started when I was in high school is still unfinished now that I am the CEO of the council.”
Tower C of the complex has been completed and occupied, while the fifth and sixth floors of Tower B are still undergoing construction. The legislators stated that they would allocate Sh350 million to finish Tower A and all other outstanding projects within a year.
KNEC Introduces New Exam Papers Pickup Strategies to Curb Early Exposure to KCPE, KCSE Examinations
