The 2022 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams results will be released next week, Education CS Ezekiel Machogu has announced.
“Next week we are announcing KCPE examination results and you will not hear any cases of cheating under the leadership of Machogu. The grading of Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) is progressing well and I can assure you, the results will not be riddled with any irregularities,” said Mr Machogu.
The marking of KCPE Insha and Composition papers started this week and will end early this week.
Knec had sent invitation letters to teachers who applied for marking of 2022 KCPE and KCSE exams.
The invitation letters started trickling in last week after KCPE and KPSEA exams were done ended on 30th November 2022.
Knec had invited KCPE and KCSE examiners to apply online for this years marking from 25th November, 2022 and 5th December, 2022 respectively.
For KCPE the examiners will mark the English Composition and Kiswahili Insha papers. In the last KCPE exam done in March 2022 the marking of the papers took two weeks.
However there will be no manual marking for Grade 6 KPSEA exams. This is because there were no essay writings like Composition and Insha.
Insha and Composition papers contribute forty per cent in the final Kiswahili and English papers respectively.
Around 1,268,830 Grade 6 learners sat for KPSEA exams while 1,230,000 candidates did KCPE exams and Form 4 for KCSE were about 880,000.
Knec however changed the reporting date for KCSE examiners because most teachers are still supervising and invigilating the ongoing KCSE exams. The reporting date has been changed to January 2.
Chief examiners and assistant chief examiners coordination will report on December 21 while Subject team leaders will now report on December 26..
KPSEA candidates did five multiple choice exam papers just like the KCPE candidates. They did Mathematics, English, Kiswahili, Integrated Science and Creative Arts and Social Studies.
KCPE candidates did Mathematics, English, Kiswahili, Science and Social Sudies.
Grade 6 and Class 8 students had their index and assessment numbers and names printed on the answer sheet to ease marking.
The marking of multiple-choice questions will be done by the modern Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) which electronically scores the papers. The OMR captures marked data from candidates’ answer sheets using specialised scanning.
The machines work with a dedicated scanning device that shines a beam of light on the paper. The contrasting reflection at predetermined positions on a page is used to detect marked areas as they reflect less light than the blank areas of the paper.
With the new machines, scripts are marked in batches of 100 and 200 sheets, unlike the previous technology, which took hours.
While KCPE results will be used for grading learners and selection of schools this will not be the case for KPSEA candidates.
The Presidential Working Party for Education Reforms (PWPER) said the KPSEA exams will not be used for placement in Junior Secondary School. Instead, it will be used as an assessment to monitor learning progress and provide feedback to education sector players on areas that require intervention
During the marking of last years exams there was a standoff between teachers and Knec over pay.
Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) wanted the exam agency to raise marking fees for each script by at least Sh50, citing harsh economic times.
Kuppet argued that papers like Chemistry Paper 1, Mathematics and English Paper 1 should each be paid at not less than sh100. Presently marking each paper attracts between Sh51 to Sh58.
“Science teachers (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) need to be considered for allowances during practical. Other practical subjects like Agriculture, Building & Construction, Music and Home Sciences should be considered too,” said Kuppet secretary general Akello Misori.
On the overall conditions of teachers working conditions, Kuppet wanted marking centres to be devolved and probably rotated around the country unlike now when they are only in Nairobi.
The union wanted the working hours during marking be fixed between 8.00 am to 5.00 pm to avoid fatigue.
And after the examination administration processes, Kuppet wanted the teachers awarded certificates.
“Examiners should be given Certificates of Attendance to help improve their CVs for interviews during promotions,” said Misori.