KCPE marking starts under tight security

What you need to know:

  • The more than 5,000 examiners are marking the papers in Nairobi, Murang’a and Kiambu under tight security and the results are expected to be released before Christmas.
  • A total of 952, 473 candidates sat the examination between November 1 and 3 in 26,308 centres across the country.
  • State House praised Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and his team for ensuring there was no cheating or leakage of the examination.

Teachers on Sunday began marking the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination as the Form Four test enters its second week on Monday.

The more than 5,000 examiners are marking the papers in Nairobi, Murang’a and Kiambu under tight security and the results are expected to be released before Christmas.

A total of 952, 473 candidates sat the examination between November 1 and 3 in 26,308 centres across the country.

On Sunday, State House praised Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and his team for ensuring there was no cheating or leakage of the examination.

“We are just coming through the middle of the secondary school examination season that has been largely incident free,” said State House Spokesperson Manoah Esipisu.

The more than 577,253 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination candidates will today sit mathematics and biology papers in 9,158 centres across the country.

This will be followed by Kiswahili and geography while on Wednesday they will write biology and agriculture papers.

ELECTIVE SUBJECTS

Most of the compulsory papers will be concluded on Tuesday, allowing the candidates time to focus on elective subjects.

Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang said last week that the government had sealed all loopholes that had made it possible for examination irregularities to happen.

He said the government had introduced rigorous rules and sent out senior officers to monitor the supervision of examinations.

“The government is keen on enabling students to secure an education to help them build their careers and be respected in the world,” he added.

Under the marking guidelines, examiners are not allowed to carry away answer scripts, marking schemes or any marking materials from the examination rooms.

“All marking must be done in the specified rooms at the marking centre. Any examiner found contravening this regulation will be dismissed instantly and a report made to his or her employer for disciplinary action,” say the regulations.

Examiners are not allowed to carry electronic gadgets, such as laptops and tablets to the marking centres and are subject to security checks. They are also not allowed to use mobile phones in the examination rooms.