Grade 3 National Exam: Pupils without birth certificates will be barred from registering for Grade 3 national exams this year.
The listing for all the pupils who be sitting for the exam will kick off next week on Monday. Grade Three learners studying the new competency-based curriculum launched this year will be assessed between 16-20 September before proceeding to the next level.
A birth certificate or an identity card are now a requirement to sit for this year’s national examinations. Candidates will also have to attach their photographs to their registration.
Kenya National Examinations Council CEO Mercy Karogo said in a circular to Education officials and primary school headteachers dated June 24 that the enrollment should be concluded by August 30. She also said the council had developed assessment tools that schools will use to assess Grade Three learners under the competency-based curriculum (CBC).
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“Identification and enrollment of learners for Kenya Early Years Assessment (Keya) will be done online. All headteachers are urged to ensure that all Grade Three learners in their schools are identified and enrolled within the stipulated period,” reads part of the letter.
The new curriculum embraces a 2-6-3-3-3 system. It involves: two years of pre-primary education, three years of lower primary, three years of upper primary, three years of lower secondary, three years of senior secondary; and three years in tertiary education.
The pupils will be assessed in English, mathematics and integrated learning to determine their capability to apply the knowledge, skills, attitude and values.
“The ongoing education reforms call for a shift in the mode of instruction and assessment, with emphasis on the use of key inquiry questions for each topic,” she said.
Apart from the Grade 3 National Exam, class 8 and form four students will also be siting for their national exams. Candidates sitting the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams will begin their exams on October 28 with the Mathematics paper, and finish their last paper – Social studies and Religious Education – on October 31. Form four candidates will officially begin their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams on November 4 and the last paper will be done on November 27.
Practical exams in subjects such as agriculture, home science, woodwork and art and design – which take seven months to complete – started in January and are expected to be complete next month for assessment. The students who take foreign languages, including French, German and Arabic, will have their oral examinations between October 21 and October 25.
