Ruto granted final say on fate of 1.27 million Grade 6 students preparing for exams

President William Ruto shall have the final say on the fate of over 1.27 million students preparing to sit for the first-ever Grade 6 Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).

In January 2023, 1.27 million students are expected to join Junior Secondary, while some 1.24 million students in Class 8 under the 8:4:4 education system will join the traditional high schools.

The Grade 6 students are part of the 3.5 million candidates sitting for different national exams later this year, including the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).

Students during a national exam Students during a national exam Pulse Live Kenya

Both KCPE and KPSEA candidates will start their exams from November 28 to November 30, 2022, while KCSE candidates will sit their exams from November 21 to December 23, 2022.

A Cabinet meeting chaired by President Ruto on Thursday, November 10, resolved that the head of state would guide the country on the future of Junior Secondary, based on recommendations from the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms.

“Cabinet noted that on receipt of the first interim report of the Presidential Working Party, which will cover the curriculum assessment and quality assurance, the president will offer guidance to the nation on the vesting of the Junior Secondary (being Grade 7- 8) on the strength of the recommendations of the Presidential Working Party,” a statement from the Cabinet Office read.

The committee, currently involved in public participation, has collected views from 37 counties.

Cabinet Secretaries during a meeting at State House on November 10, 2022 Pulse Live Kenya

It plans to conclude the county hearings and thereafter receive oral submissions from stakeholders including teachers' unions and associations, Parliament, and others by November 24, 2022.

Parents, students, teachers and other stakeholders will have to wait with bated breath for the president to decide on the future of the CBC following recommendations from the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms.