Registration of KCPE and KCSE candidates from the 2021 academic year is set to kick off in primary and secondary schools countrywide.
The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) which is the body mandated to register candidates, set exams, mark them, and process results has been posting circulars instructing heads of schools on what is required of them as pertains to the 2021 registration exercise.
A circular that was released on 11th June, 2021 has spurred a lot of controversy especially in small sub-county schools. According to the directive in the circular, private and public schools with less than forty (40) candidates will not be granted an examination centre. They will instead be hosted by an examination centre with more than (40) candidates during the 2021 KCPE and KCSE examinations scheduled for March/April 2022.
This directive came as a shock to many principals in small public sub-county and private secondary schools that have very few candidates. To add insult to injury, the principals of the hosted schools will not be involved in the management of the exams. It is only the host head teachers/principals who will be authorized to manage both centres.
What this means is that the heads of institutions with less than forty candidates will lose their job as centre managers. The examination body has been paying head teachers and principals for collecting exams, coordinating the conduct and returning the candidates’ answer scripts to the containers during each day of the examination.
Previously, it used to be schools with less than fifteen (15) candidates that would be hosted in bigger examination centres. Head teachers/principals of the hosted schools would also perform the roles of centre managers of their respective schools. The move by KNEC is aimed at cutting costs and curbing cheating incidents in schools. Only time will tell whether KNEC will stick to the directive or otherwise. Have a look at a screenshot of the circular below.
