News

Schools reopen for the third term to exams calendar

Monday, September 2nd, 2019 00:00 | By
Fortunatta Wanjira (right) and her brother John Muhihia peruse through textbooks at Soitah book store in Nyeri town, yesterday. They are accompanied by their parents. Photo/PD/JOSEPH KING’ORI

Schools across the country are set to reopen today for the third term with a packed calendar, that will mainly include national examinations.

The calendar is expected to run up to October 25 to allow Class Eight and Form Four students to sit their national examinations after a two–month marathon term, which will not have non-academic activities or mid-term break.

Initially, schools were to be reopened on August 26 but the date was pushed to today to allow for a smooth undertaking of the just-concluded national census.

There will be no prayer sessions in schools for the candidates this term, a move that was introduced last year to tame cases of cheating. 

No interference

“I want to be crystal clear that nobody in both private and public institutions will be allowed to interfere with candidates as they prepare for their examinations. There will be no events in schools; no fundraising, no prayers or any other activities,” said Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha.

This year’s Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination will go on from November 1 to 3 while the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam will run from November 7 to 30.

About 1.78 million candidates are expected to sit the exams this year. Of this number, 1,089,671 will sit KCPE while 698,935 have been registered for KCSE.

A spot check by People Daily yesterday showed that most matatu stages were fully packed as parents rushed to various destinations to prepare for the schools reopening.

However, the number of parents and guardians heading to bookshops remained low with most booksellers, who spoke to People Daily, saying customers had significantly dropped. They said parents were not keen on buying books as the school year is coming to an end.

Involve us

Meanwhile,  Parents Teachers Association chair Nicholas Maiyo said they were expecting a busy term and lauded Magoha for putting strict measures in place to curb exam cheating. 

Speaking to People Daily on phone, Maiyo urged the new acting Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) secretary-general Hesbon Otieno to embrace dialogue and avoid being abrasive like his predecessor Wilson Sossion. 

“It’s a new dawn for the education sector; as parents, we are asking the new SG Otieno to involve us in everything because we too are stakeholders in education,” he said.

More on News


ADVERTISEMENT

RECOMMENDED STORIES News


ADVERTISEMENT