KCPE: May the best students excel

This year’s Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examinations begin countrywide on Tuesday.

Some 669,318 Standard Eight candidates have been registered for this important examination that determines those who proceed to secondary and eventually higher education, and those who drop out to face an uncertain future.

Unlike the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), the administration of KCPE is generally smooth and we believe all the necessary preparations have been made to maintain that trend.

A number of issues obtain though. The first is that among the candidates are those who were displaced during the political chaos early in the year.

These candidates have not had time and the peace of mind to prepare effectively for the exam given the sordid conditions at the camps for internally displaced persons.

Indeed, this illustrates the unfairness of one mode of assessment – bit does not take cognisance of the different conditions under which candidates operate.

Unfortunately, we are stuck with that skewed arrangement unless experts and policy-makers come up with alternatives.

Second, and quite correctly, the Kenya National Examinations Council has abolished ranking of schools and candidates in both KCPE and KCSE to eliminate the cut-throat competition that has seen teachers resorting to drilling instead of teaching.

Some schools have adopted unorthodox practices such as forced repetition and double registration, to ensure they do well and top the charts. Nothing negates the philosophy and spirit of examinations than reducing them to competition.

Examinations are administered to assess learning outcomes, not a showbiz.

Third, the question of progression from primary to secondary school remains a major challenge.

Although the transition rate has improved considerably, at least 60 per cent of the candidates join Form One, the number missing is still unacceptably high.

The Ministry of Education, therefore, has the important task of expediting the expansion of secondary education to guarantee that all those who sit the KCPE exam have a chance to proceed to the next level.

In sum, the exams bring to the fore the issues of testing, credibility, fairness and transition, which need to be addressed. In the meantime, we express our best wishes to all the candidates.