The Ministry of Education sought to clarify the administration of the ongoing Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations after the government declared Friday, November 1, 2024, a public holiday.
Acting Interior Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi in a gazette notice on Thursday evening declared Friday a holiday to allow the swearing-in of Deputy President designate Prof. Kithure Kindiki.
Kindiki will be sworn in as the DP at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi following a gazette notice by Secretary to the Cabinet Mercy Wanjau on Thursday.
Following the declaration of Friday as a public holiday, Education CS Julius Ogamba issued a statement on the conduct of the ongoing KCSE exams which officially begun on October 22.
Ogamba however said that the declaration will not interrupt the ongoing exams which were scheduled for Friday
“The Ministry of Education wishes to inform the public that the declaration of the holiday will not interrupt the ongoing KCSE Examination papers scheduled for Friday, 1st November 2024,” the statement reads.
Consequently, all members of the multi-Agency examinations administration team were instructed to report to work as scheduled to ensure that all examination activities of the day are well executed in line with Ministry of Education guidelines.
Also Read: KNEC Clarifies 2024 KCSE Exam Timetable
According to CS Ogamba, the directive was to apply to all other basic education institutions that are in session.
KCSE Papers on Friday
According to the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) timetable, scheduled papers for Friday include Home Science – Clothing Construction (Practical), Home Science – Clothing Construction (Practical) Large print, Home Science – Clothing Construction (Practical) Braille, Art and Design (Practical), and Art and Design (Practical) Large print.
Others include Power Mechanics (Practical), Power Mechanics (Practical) Large print, Electricity (Practical), Drawing and Design (Practical), Aviation Technology (Practical), Computer Studies (Practical) and Computer Studies (Practical) Large print.
This year’s exams are taking place in 10,755 centers, with a record-high 965,501 candidates, an increase from 903,138 in 2023.
Candidates started with practical and oral exams for elective subjects before the main written papers, which are set to begin on November 4.
Rehearsals took place on October 28 with the first batch of exams covering French (oral), German (oral), Kenyan Sign Language (practical signing skills), and music (practical).
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KNEC had earlier in October announced that this year’s KCSE papers will have new specialized features as part of its innovations aimed at curbing cheating.
Features
CS Ogamba highlighted the new features while speaking on October 4 during the launch of the 2024 national examinations and assessments season at Mitihani House in Nairobi.
The CS while revealing the raft of changes effected to this year’s KCSE urged all the stakeholders involved in the entire ecosystem of administering examinations and assessments to pay attention to the innovations introduced by KNEC.
He highlighted that students who will sit for the national examinations will have their papers customized, with their examination details names, index number and other personal details pre-printed.
Meanwhile, grade six learners on Thursday wrapped up the 3-day Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) assessment concluding with creative arts and social studies papers.
These assessments are designed to monitor student progress throughout Primary School assisting in the transition to Junior School.
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