Kenya: KCPE results set to be released today

The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam results will be released today, following the return of President William Ruto from a trip abroad.

Education Cabinet Secretary and the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) will first present and brief the President on the results before announcing them to the public.

Dr Ruto jetted back into the country on Monday night after the one-week tour abroad.

Some education officials, who spoke to Nation yesterday, said they had been informed to be “on stand-by” as they might be invited to attend the release ceremony at the New Mitihani House on short notice.

This is the second-last edition of the KCPE examinations before the 8-4-4 system of education is completely phased out of the primary school curriculum next year.

It will be the first KCPE examination release for Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu.

It will also be the first time the results will be released from the new Knec headquarters which took more than 35 years to complete.

The release of the results is expected to be followed by Form One selection, probably after Christmas in order to give parents time to prepare their children before schools open on January 23.

Some 1,244,188 candidates were registered for the examination, which was administered from November 28 to 30. However, some candidates missed the test due to various reasons.

As the KCPE exams candidates eagerly await their results, their counterparts in Grade 6 who sat the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) have no such anxiety.

This is after the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms recommended that the assessment should not be used for placement to junior secondary school, thereby taking away the high stakes commonly associated with national exams. The learners will further transition to JSS in their current primary schools.