Tight plan, busy calendar as schools reopen today
Schools reopen for the Third Term of 2021 academic year today, marking the beginning of yet another tight programme in the academic calendar.
It is a busy academic year, which will have five national exams—the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education in March for the classes of 2021, and in December similar tests for the 2022 classes as well as the Competency-Based Curriculum Grade Six.
In his New Year message, President Uhuru Kenyatta said the academic calendar would kick off in earnest today, which for the second year running, features four terms as opposed to the usual three, to recover time lost during the nine-month school closure in 2020 because of Covid pandemic.
“KCPE and KCSE exams will be administered in March/April and also in November/December.
To our learners, we appreciate that, just like in 2021, the 2022 academic calendar will similarly be long and challenging.
However, let 2022 be a year of destiny, of dreams becoming reality and for laying the foundation stones for a glorious future,” said the President.
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has urged school heads not to send learners away over fees, saying they should instead work out a way to settle the issue.
He made the remarks as he assured that the government will this week disburse capitation funds so all students should stay in school whether they have cleared fees or not.
Many parents
“Do not send children home. If the parent comes with say Sh4,000 and the balance is Sh10,000, take the Sh4,000 and agree when they will bring the balance.
Principals should be considerate, as many parents have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Prof Magoha.
He at the same time called on parents to pay fees against taking advantage of the situation.
Magoha told principals to be vigilant and be on the lookout for any unruly students out to destroy school properties and waste learning time.
“If you identify a small group of students who want to go home, let them go. This nonsense of trying to burn schools because you have not been reading so that everybody else suffers is sadistic.”
He was categorical that the government will not be deterred by actions of a few indisciplined students.
About 100 schools had to be closed indefinitely after students went on the rampage, burnt down facilities while others just walked out of school.
“I do not condone indiscipline in my life and I am not about to condone it now.
Any child who is bold enough to put fire either in his father’s house or in his own house, or in a public house, that one is a criminal.”
This term is expected to run for nine weeks, starting today until March 4, when schools will close to allow for both KCPE and KCSE exams between March 7 and April 1. The 2022 calendar will then begin on April 25.
Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) clarified that the exam schedule has not been changed, contrary to misleading reports being circulated.
“Knec once again reminds the public that KCPE and KCSE examinations timetables for March/April 2022 have not been revised.
The timetables are available on the Knec website. Ignore any reports claiming that the timetables have been revised,” Knec has stated.
Some 1,225,698 candidates registered to sit their 2021 KCPE, an increase of 34,085 compared to 2020.
For 2021 KCSE, there was a 10.42 per cent increase compared to last year. Some 832,026 candidates will sit their KCSE compared to 752,602 last year.
Exams are also to be delivered in an election year but the Ministry of Education has assured that all exams will be undertaken as planned.
Test papers
Magoha said the duty at hand is to prepare those exams effectively, even as he lauded examiners who have developed the test papers.
“This year will test whether the transformation we have done at Knec is sustainable or not and the reason is instead of having the two usual exams, we will have five,” said the CS.
“We are in a transitional year, nothing stops despite being an election year. The children shall have their examination in December and we want to prepare properly.”
Magoha has also assured that the December exams will be ready for administration by the end of next term.
It is also an year that will see construction of Junior Secondary School classrooms, as part of preparation for the 2023 double intake, since it will have domiciled in secondary schools.
Already, Magoha is overseeing ground-breaking of the classrooms construction; with phase one expected to be completed in April while phase two is to commence in May.
Under the construction programme, the government has outlined the number of classrooms each county should have as part of the over 10,000 needed to provide additional learning space for the over one million students to join Grade Seven.
