Anxiety as over 880,000 candidates wait to know their KCPE results on Monday

The more than 889,000 candidates who sat their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination this year will know their scores on Monday.

Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi will release the results at Mitihani House in Nairobi from 9am.

Last month, the Education Ministry abolished the ranking of schools and candidates to reduce cut-throat competition and cheating in national examinations.

The new policy was aimed at ending unethical practices by teachers in the rush for top positions.

In the circular, Education Principal Secretary Bellio Kipsang indicated that Form One selection would henceforth be determined by quotas, performance, affirmative action and the candidates’ school choices.

This year, KCPE candidates sat the exam in 24,278 centres across the country, an increase from 2013, when 844,000 candidates sat for the exam in 23,819 centres.

FORM ONE SELECTION

Sources told the Nation that the ministry and the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) officials met on Tuesday last week and resolved to focus on grading of candidates as opposed to ranking of schools and candidates.

Education officials yesterday declined to comment on how the results will be presented given that parents, teachers and the learners are used to ranking of schools and candidates.

This year’s candidates will also be competing for limited spaces in secondary schools. Last year, close to 200,000 candidates who sat for the KCPE exam failed to secure Form One places. Last year, 647,602 out of 843,626 candidates secured places in secondary schools. In 2012, 818,298 candidates sat for the exam and 628,051 secured places in secondary schools.

Further, this will be the first time the newly-elevated national schools will select students after the Ministry of Education stopped them from selecting top cream pupils in last year’s exam.

TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATION

The number of national schools has increased from 78 to 105. As has been the tradition, they will be given priority to select Form One candidates. Selection by extra-county schools will be next, followed by sub-county schools.

All students will be expected to report to their respective schools by the end of February.

Knec Chief Executive Officer Joseph Kivilu said the Ministry of Education would determine how students would join secondary schools.

As has been the tradition, candidates from public primary schools are expected to secure more places in national and top county schools compared with those from private schools.

While announcing that ranking of candidates and schools had been abolished, Dr Kipsang said in a circular: “Ranking of schools and students on the basis of national examination results, therefore, is discontinued with immediate effect.”

The ban arose from a recommendation by the Task Force on Secondary School Fees chaired by former Education assistant minister Kilemi Mwiria, now a presidential adviser on education.

RANKING OF SCHOOLS

The task force proposed that ranking of schools should be holistic and not based on their performance in national examinations alone.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) opposed the directive, saying that it should be overturned to maintain quality of teaching and learning in schools.

Knut Secretary-General Wilson Sossion said the ministry should have exhaustively consulted stakeholders on the matter.

However, Dr Kipsang said there had been extensive consultations before the ranking system was abolished.

He said the Ministry would now focus on improvements in the quality of service delivery and improved access, attendance and attainment in learning achievements to ensure high retention and completion rates in both primary and secondary education.

REPEATING CLASSES

Some schools had been forcing weak learners to repeat classes while others have been registering the weak ones in satellite exam centres in an attempt to improve their mean scores and standing in the examination table of excellence.

The government also introduced a new system of sharing Form One slots, with public schools getting a bigger share compared with private ones.

However, the method has been challenged several times in court by private schools whose pupils have missed out on national school places despite attaining high marks in KCPE.

The formula is based on the notion that learners in private schools enjoy access to superior teaching materials and enough teachers compared to their counterparts in public schools.

“The number to be admitted from either public or private primary schools will be proportionate to the candidature in either category,” Dr Kipsang said in regulations to be enforced when selection starts in January.