NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 28 – Westlands Primary Schools headteacher now has outlined the benefits of the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) exams currently underway in comparison to the previous Kenya Certificate ofPrimary Education (KCPE).
Speaking in Monday even as the KPSEA exercise kicked off, Kennedy Kyeva who is also the National Treasurer of the Kenya Primary School Headteachers Association (KEPSHA), said KCPE put a lot of pressure on students.
He pointed out that KPSEA on the other hand does not require pupils to transition to High Schools and there is no fear on missing out on National Schools.
“KCPE was a pressure cooker as pupils had to get 400 marks to go to National Schools or be featured on the media. There was a lot of tension and the pupils knew if you don’t get it right, you end up in Constituency Development Fund Schools,” Kyeva said.
He further stated that in KCPE, the Mathematics paper would initially take two hours whereas now it is to be done in only 1 hour 20 minutes.
“In terms of Preparation, as a school we didn’t want to tense them through cramming, and telling them now, it’s exam time and take it seriously. It’s just the normal preparation that we go through with the CBC classes,” he noted.
The School which has had a 254-Pupil turn out with six pupils transfering early this year before registration of the exam due to parents being skeptical of the CBC system.
Kyeva further noted that the school has received Grade 9 textbooks that were issued last week by the Ministry of Education and that the Grade 9 classrooms will be ready in the next two months which backed up the president’s speech yesterday, confirming the completion of 11,000 Junior Secondary School classrooms by January next year.
The headteacher expects the candidates to perform and exceed expectations, or at the very least meet expectations and concluded by wishing all the KPSEA candidates success in their exams.
Contribution by Linet Waite
