Schools to open on January 7

The government has changed the opening dates for schools in 2013 for the second time to agree with the demands of private schools. Read (Private schools reject revised term dates)

In the new timetable released on Thursday, both primary and secondary schools will now open on January 7, 2013 instead of February 4 and close on April 12, 2013, more than a month earlier than the May 17 announced initially.

But Education PS George Godia said in a statement that schools would have to break for two weeks from February 25 to March 7 to allow for General Election scheduled for March 4.

Most schools are often used as polling centres and the Ministry argues it didn’t want learning to be disrupted with the polling.

“The new dates were agreed upon after consultations with the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) and other stakeholders,” said a statement from the Ministry.

According to Prof Godia, the new changes would not affect the earlier timetable released this week for national exams to allow for timely marking and releasing of results. 

The Ministry revised the term to compensate for the time learners lost during the three weeks teachers strike.

Extend third term

The three-week strike to pressure the government into increasing teachers’ salaries disorganised teaching and learning programmes in schools and compelled the government to extend this year’s third term to November 23 to recompense for the lost days.

The changes also mean KCPE results will be announced on January 25 while those of the KCSE will be out three months later, on April 16.

Traditionally, KCPE results are announced on December 28 and KCSE around February 28.

Following the review of term dates in third term, the Government revised term dates for 2013 school calendar where schools would have opened 4th February, 2013 and closed on 17th May 2013 for First Term.

But some parents and owners of private schools opposed the new arrangement for term dates in 2013 saying it would inconvenience teaching and learning particularly because learners will hardly have settled for serious learning before electioneering mood sets in.

“If we reopen on February 4, children will have been away from school for so long it will take them some time to return to learning mode,” Mr Earnest Wangai, the Chairman of Kenya Private Schools Association told journalists in Nairobi last week.

On Monday, Knec released a revised exam timetable in which Form Four candidates will start with optional subjects such as Biology practical, French, Building and construction, Electricity and Music.

The students who traditionally sat for English and Mathematics in their first week of the exams would have to take the subjects in the second week.

In the past, some practical papers like Home Science started in September, but the main theory and compulsory papers of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) came after the Mashujaa Day on October 21.

Some 437,782 candidates will sit KCSE this year. Nearly double the number, 820,255; Standard Eight pupils will sit the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE).

According to the timetable, KCPE starts on December 4 instead of between November 13 and 15.

Candidates will begin with Math and English then finish with Social Studies on December 6.

The region has been threatened with insecurity after the Mombasa Republican Council announced they would disrupt the exams.

Mr Godia who was speaking at Nyakiambi Girls High school in Nyandarua County during a prize giving day said January 7, 2013 would be the opening date.

“We have taken into consideration their (stakeholders) views. That is why we have decided that we will change the education calendar contrary to what we had earlier announced”, he said

Prof Godia said that the new calendar had been reached by a committee formed by education minister Mr Mutula Kilonzo.

This was after the Kenya Private Schools Association and other players in the sector opposed the move to have schools open in February as this term would be extended to cover the days lost during the teachers’ strike.

Prof Godia assured Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) candidates that their examinations would go on as planned.

He said that all preparations had been put in place to make sure that they were done in a conducive environment.

He warned that cheating in examination would be taken seriously adding that tough measures have been put in place.

“We have put in place measures to see to it that no cases of exam cheating will occur. Anyone found contravening this law will be dealt with seriously,” he observed.

The PS hailed parliament for passing the Kenya National examination council bill which now awaits presidents’ assent.

He said that the law will go a long way in fighting cases of exam cheating since it provided stiff penalties for those caught contravening it.