End of an Era: Candidates to Sit Last KCPE Under 8-4-4 System
After 38 years, the Kenya Certificate for Primary Education Examinations (KCPE) exams will finally come to an end as the last cohort sits the test.
The conclusion of the steadfast 8-4-4 curriculum has arrived with 1,415,315 candidates set to partake in its final round. Filling the gap will be the Competency-Based Curriculum instilled by the Ministry of Education and structured around a 2-6-6-3 basis. This updated program is hailed as optimal and best suited for shaping a student's skill set. Its paradigm involves a transformation from dependence on assessments through examinations as seen in the 8-4-4 regime, which thrived more on the competition with immense pressure loaded on each child to achieve excellence. Maria Goretti Nyariki, who took the first KCPE exam in 1985, shares her perspective on the changes.
Nyariki contends that the pursuit of high performance in exams has escalated throughout the years at the expense of the exam's authenticity. She argues that corruption and exam cheating have facilitated this troubling trend, compromising the integrity of the results. Nyariki highlights that the quest for top-notch grades has driven exam commercialization following the significant interest these exams have garnered from students, their parents, and schools. Regrettably, she states that this heaps undue burden on learners to fulfil the expectations of others. Despite the challenges faced by the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), Nyariki believes its successful implementation requires substantial resources. She asserts that CBC will expose learners to various opportunities, enabling them to discern their desired life paths from an early age.
Nyariki observes that the current generation faces numerous academic challenges like excessive assignments and holiday homework. As the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) is phased out, learners will now take their first national exam at Grade 6. The Kenya Primary School Education Assessment will replace KCPE, but it will not determine learners' progression to Grade 7, which marks the transition to Junior Secondary School. A tool has been developed to monitor the progress of learners. Last year, the first group of students took the KEPSEA exam at the same time as the KCPE. This year, the situation remains the same as 1,282,574 Grade 6 candidates also take the KEPSEA exam.
The KCPE and KPSEA tests are scheduled from Monday, October 30 through Wednesday, November 1. To better evaluate students, Mathematics, English, Kiswahili, Science, Social, and Religious studies have been replaced under the new KEPSA program and learners won't do them for their first national exam. Now students will be assessed in a wider breadth of topics including Mathematics, English, and Kiswahili, as well as an Integrated Science (I.S.) section expanding into realms of Home Science, Agriculture, Science and Tech, and Physical Health. A Creative and Social Sciences segment (C.A.S.S) rounds out the material and includes Arts and Craft, Music, Social Studies, and Religious Education.
Although there are many subjects, they have been consolidated into five areas for testing. The KEPSEA exam will contribute only 40 per cent to the learners' final grade, with the remaining 60 per cent coming from continuous assessment tests conducted in Grades 4, 5, and 6.