Race starts for two KCPE, KCSE exams in 2022

The journey to administration of two KCPE and KCSE examinations in the next 18 months has started with the registration of candidates.

The Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) will run registration for the first two national exams that will be administered in March next year between June 1 and July 31, 2021.

Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) candidates are scheduled to sit the exams between March 7, 2022 and March 10, 2022 in the reorganised school calendar, while the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates will start their tests the following day and complete on April 1, 2022. 

The learners who will sit the March examinations are currently in Standard 7 and Form 3 respectively. They will transition to the candidate classes in last week of next month, when the 2021 academic year begins. 

The setting of the examinations has already began ahead of a busy year for Knec, that is meant to recover time lost to the Covid-19 pandemic interruption last year.

The examinations body, which has this year administered Grade 3 and 4 assessments, KCPE and KCSE examinations, will also oversee national tests in March 2022 for learners who will be in Grade 3, 4 and 5 before they transition to their respective classes. 

Pioneer CBC class

In November, they will be in action again to assess the learners under the continuous assessment model that the competency-based curriculum has adopted. These assessments will be school-based, but will contribute to the overall score the learners will get at the end of Grade 6. 

The pioneer CBC class that completed Grade 4 in March will be Grade 6 in November 2022 and will sit the first primary school exit assessment under the system before transiting to junior secondary (Grade 7) in January 2023. Their scores will be used for placement to secondary schools even though details of how this will be done still remain unclear. 

Formative assessments at Grade 4, 5 and 6 will be weighted at 20 per cent each and a summative assessment at Grade 6 contributing the other 40 per cent. The Grade 3 assessment is meant to monitor learners’ progress and will not be considered for the final score. 

In the busy period for Knec, it will administer another set of KCPE and KCSE examinations for the learners currently in Standard 6 and Form 2 respectively between November and December before the school calendar reverts back to its regular schedule in January 2023. 

Through a circular to schools that have KCPE and KCSE candidates and sub-county directors of education, Knec has instructed school heads to register the candidates on the Knec portal. 

“All heads of institutions are reminded to ensure that candidates are registered where they have been learning in Class Seven (7) for primary schools and Form Three (3) for secondary schools. Registration of a candidate in two examination centres is an examination malpractice,” the circular signed by the acting CEO Mercy Karogo reads. 

Registration of candidates

“There will be no late registration of candidates for the 2021 KCPE and KCSE examinations.”

The window is also open for registration of candidates who hold foreign qualifications and wish to sit the KCSE. They are required to first sit for a qualifying test one year before registration for KCSE. Those who wish to sit the KCSE but hold a Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) will also be required to sit the qualifying test. 

The heads of institutions who also function as examination centre managers have been instructed to ensure accuracy in the candidates’ order of names as detailed in their birth certificates, gender, year of birth, subjects entered and information about candidates with special needs. 

Private candidates will be registered by the sub-county directors of education. They will be required to download the private candidate’s registration form from the Knec website, fill it and present it to the sub-county education office. Only one examination centre will be allowed per sub-county.

The education officials are expected to identify one public school where the private candidates will be hosted. 

“Any school that has between 5 and 14 candidates will be hosted by another centre to be determined by the sub-county director of education. Schools with less than 5 candidates are advised to register their candidates in another approved examination centre in the same sub-county,” the circular reads. 

The KCPE and KCSE candidates in both private and public schools will not pay examination fees as this will be covered by the government apart from those who are re-sitting, foreigners, private candidates and prisoners. 

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