Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha has today said the exercise of monitoring Grade 3 learners progress isn’t an exam. According to the CS, the exercise was meant to collect data so as to inform policy decisions on the new Curriculum Based Curriculum,CBC. He said that there will be no timetable for the tests.
While addressing journalists in Thika today, when he visited Joy Town School to monitor students’ preparedness, Prof Magoha told schools claiming to be unable to meet the printing costs for the assessment sheets to write the tests on the chalk boards. “It (the grade 3 assessment) can be written on the blackboard so you don’t need to photocopy many copies,” he said.
The 2019 Grade 3 exams Fake Time Table being circulated.
In a rejoinder, the Kenya National Examinations Council, KNEC, has quashed the time table being circulated on Social Media platforms; terming it fake. “The Public should be notified that the timetable circulating in social media on Grade 3 monitoring is fake,” reads a presser from the Council. According to KNEC, this is what should be expected under the grade 3 monitoring exercise: 1. There is no supervisor/invigilator 2. No exam timetable 3. The exam is administered by class teachers 4. There will be no recording of individual learners’ scores 6. All Grade 3 kids will join Grade 4 next year.
The assessment for the over 1.3 Million Learners will kick off on Monday September 16, 2019 countrywide. In an interesting twist of events, some headteachers however say they don’t know how download the tasks from the KNEC portal.
The Kenya National Examinations Council, knec, has insisted that grade 3 learners will be subjected to a term long assessment and not an exam as it is being reported in the media. The council was responding to assertions that the learners will be sitting an examination in the exercise which kicked off on Monday September 16, 2019.
“Education CS George Magoha explained on Friday that Grade 3 learners aren’t sitting any exams. The Exams Council is only monitoring their progress in a term-long exercise that does’nt have a timetable, is conducted by class teachers, has no supervision, and learners won’t be ranked,” insists the council.
On Friday, Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha said the exercise of monitoring Grade 3 learners progress isn’t an exam. According to the CS, the exercise is meant to collect data to inform policy decisions on the Competency Based Curriculum, CBC. He said that there won’t be timetable for the tests.
Also, the CS clarified that Birth certificates are not needed for the monitoring of learner progress and that all learners will progress to Grade 4 next year.
knec on its part was quick to quash a 2019 grade 3 tests time table that was being circulated in Social Media Platforms. “The Public should be notified that the timetable circulating in social media on Grade 3 monitoring is fake. Under the exercise; There’s no supervisor/invigilator, No timetable, the test is administered by class teachers, there are no individual scores and all Grade 3 kids will join Grade 4; next year,” insisted the Council.
Education CS George Magoha while conducting CBC class observation on Friday at Joytown Primary school, Thika restated that there is no Grade 3 national exam. The CS said Schools will administer a routine assessment of learners’ competencies the whole term to point out areas requiring interventions.
The Director General, Department of Basic Education in the Republic of South Africa Hubert Mweli follow a lesson in grade three class room at the Visa Oshwal Primary School. SA Government wants Kenya to help it to introduce Kiswahili in her schools. Photo/ Courtesy
The Tests
Meanwhile, the Council has instructed schools to download the test papers from the official knec portal. The tools to be used for monitoring of learners progress have already been uploaded on the KNEC Grade 3 Portal for head teachers to download and print copies for the learners.
“Schools can access the true copies of the Monitoring of Learner Progress (NOT EXAMS) from the Exams Council portal,” knec says.
“In the event that a school is not able to download the MLP tools the head teacher is advised to liaise with the Curriculum Support officer or the Sub county Director of Education for assistance,” advises the Council.
Learners will be assessed in the following three areas:
1). English language activities;
2). Mathematical activities and
3). Integrated learning Areas
Administration of the tools for Monitoring Learner Progress (MLP)
According to instructions from the exams council, Grade 3 MLP tools shall be administered by the headteacher and teachers in charge of the specific learning areas.
The council further says it will not provide supervisors and invigilators during the conduct and administration of the assessment tools to grade 3 learners. Likewise marking, scoring and uploading of the learners’ performance levels onto the KNEC grade 3 portal will also be done by the class teachers.
The Kenya National Examinations Council has developed guidelines for use by the Education field officers during the monitoring of learner progress for the 2019 grade 3 learners in both public and private primary schools offering KICD (Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development) Curriculum. The following learning areas will be assessed:-
1). English language activities; 2). Mathematical activities; 3). Integrated learning Areas
KNEC has already prepared guidelines on the enrollment of grade 3 learners and the roles to be played by different Education officers during the monitoring of the grade 3 learner progress.
Identification and enrolment of Grade 3 learners
The identification and enrolment of grade 3 learners shall be done ONLINE. The exercise commenced on 1st July, 2019 and is scheduled to end on 31st August, 2019.
KNEC has developed a Grade 3 learners portal and downloaded the bio data for grade 3 learners from National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) to assist head teachers identify their learners and enroll those who are not capture in the NEMIS database.
New schools without KNEC code are advised to liaise with the Sub county Director of education office for coding. The Sub county Director of education is expected to forward the schools’ details to KNEC for activation and issuance of passwords.
To access the Grade 3 portal, head-teachers are advised to do the following:
Visit the KNEC website and click on the link called ‘Grade 3 portal’, – which will direct you to ‘cba.knec.ac.ke’.
Schools which already have a KNEC KCPE School Code will log into the portal using the KNEC School Code as the Username and the Password which they use during KCPE examination registration.
Dissemination of the Grade 3 MLP tools
1). The tools to be used for monitoring of learners progress shall be uploaded on the KNEC Grade 3 Portal for head teachers to download and print copies for the learners.
2). All head teachers are expected to fill an e-readiness questionnaire online and submit it to KNEC immediately.
3). Each school is expected to use its password to access KNEC grade 3 portal for purposes of downloading monitoring/assessment tools. KNEC has already started the coding of new schools to facilitate enrolment of learners and downloading of the tools.
4). In the event that a school is not able to download the MLP tools the head teacher is advised to liaise with the Curriculum Support officer or the Sub county Director of Education for assistance.
5). The Sub county Director of Education and Curriculum Support officer shall advise KNEC on the best method to use to disseminate the tools for different categories of learners with special needs in education.
Administration of the tools for Monitoring Learner Progress (MLP)
1). Grade 3 MLP tools shall be administered by the headteacher and teachers in charge of the specific learning areas,
2). KNEC will not provide supervisors and invigilators during the conduct and administration of the assessment tools to grade 3 learners. Likewise marking, scoring and uploading of the learners’ performance levels onto the KNEC grade 3 portal will also be done by the class teachers.
The following personnel will be involved in the administration of the Grade 3 MLP tools.
County Director of Education;
TSC County Director;
Sub county Director of Education;
TSC Sub county Director;
Curriculum Support Officer;
Head teacher;
Subject Teacher;
The County Director of Education
The County Director of Education is responsible to the Kenya National Examinations Council for the successful monitoring of grade 3 learners’ progress in the County. His/her duties include to:
1). Coordinate the administration of the tools for grade 3 learners in their respective counties to ensure it is conducted according to KNEC guidelines;
2). Ensure that all schools in the County have adequate facilities for smooth administration of the tasks/tools and monitoring of learners progress. These facilities include following;
Internet connectivity;
Working computers and printers for ease of downloading of the tools and uploading of learners scores;
Standard and well ventilated classrooms;
Secure storage rooms for the head teacher to keep the MLP tools;
suitable furniture for the learners;
The Role of the TSC County Director
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC)County Director is responsible to the Kenya National Examinations Council for the successful monitoring of grade 3 learner progress in the county. His/her duties include to:
1). Oversee the receipt of all circulars on the administration of tools for monitoring grade 3 learners progress from KNEC;
2). Ensure that all headteachers and teachers involved in the administration of the grade 3 MLP are registered by the TSC;
3). Coordinate and ensure that all headteachers download and print copies of the tools for the learners and upload the learners’ scores online upon completion of marking and scoring;
4). Ensure discipline of headteachers and teachers during monitoring of grade 3 learner progress;
5). Quality assure the administration of the grade 3 MLP tools within the County.
Sub-County Director of Education
The Sub-County Director of Education is directly answerable to the County Director of Education for the proper and successful administration of grade 3 MLP tools in the Sub County. His/her duties include the following:
1). Coordinate receipt of all circulars from KNEC and forwarding them to TSC Sub county Director who will ensure that the circulars received by the head teachers;
2). Brief headteachers and Education officers jointly with TSC Sub –County Director and KNEC officers (where applicable) on the administration of grade 3 MLP tools;
3). Ensure that all schools in the Sub County have adequate facilities for conduct of grade 3 MLP. These facilities include;
Internet connectivity;
Working computers and printers for ease of downloading of MLP tools and uploading of learners scores;
Secure storage rooms for the head teacher to keep the MLP tools;
Suitable furniture for the learners;
Identify and assist schools that do not have the capacity to download and print copies of the MLP tools;
4). Quality assure the administration of grade 3 MLP tools in their respective Sub counties.
The Role of the TSC Sub-County Director
The TSC Sub-County Director in liaison with the TSC County Director is responsible to the Kenya National Examinations Council for the successful administration of grade 3 MLP tools in the Sub- County. His/her duties include to:
1). Oversee the receipt of all circulars on the conduct of grade 3 MLP from KNEC through the Sub county Director of Education;
2). Ensure all head teachers and teachers involved in the administration of grade 3 MLP in the Sub County are registered by the TSC;
3). Ensure all headteachers download and print copies of Grade 3 MLP tools and upload the learners scores online upon completion of marking and scoring;
4). Ensure discipline of Head teachers and teachers during conduct the of grade 3 MLP;
5). Quality assure the conduct of grade 3 MLP progress within the Sub County.
6). Brief headteachers and Education Officers jointly with the Sub county Director of Education.
Curriculum Support Officer (CSO)
The Curriculum Support Officer in liaison with the TSC Sub county Director is responsible to the Kenya National Examinations Council for the successful administration of grade 3 MLP tools in the Zone.
His/her duties include to:
1). Ensure that information and all circulars on the administration of grade 3 MLP tools is disseminated to schools;
2). Identify and bring to the attention of the Sub county Director Education schools with grade three learners that are not enrolled and coded by KNEC;
3). Follow up with the Sub county Director Education to ensure that the schools are coded and password issued;
4). Ensure that all grade 3 learners in both public and private primary schools within their zones are enrolled for grade 3 MLP (Schools offering KICD Curriculum);
5). Ensure all schools fill the e-readiness questionnaire online and submit it to KNEC immediately;
6). Identify schools that might face challenges during the administration of grade 3 MLP and advise KNEC through the office of the Sub county Director of Education or TSC Sub county Director on how to handle the challenge (especially dissemination of the tools/ materials for SNE learners);
7). Ensure that all headteachers download and print copies of tools for the learners and upload the learners’ scores online upon completion of marking and scoring;
8). Ensure headteachers and teachers perform their roles effectively during the administration of grade 3 monitoring of learners progress;
9). Quality assure the administration of grade 3 monitoring of learners’ progress within their Zones and report any challenges experienced to the TSC Sub County Director;
10). Participate in the briefing of headteachers which will be conducted by the TSC Sub County Directors and Sub –County Director of Education on the administration of grade 3 MLP tools.
11). Prepare a report on the administration of grade 3 MLP tools and give recommendations for future improvement.
The Head teacher
The Head teacher has a personal responsibility to ensure that grade 3 monitoring of learners progress in the school is carried out according to the KNEC guidelines. In this regard, the head teacher shall perform the following roles related to the monitoring of learners progress.
1). Ensure that the school is registered by the Ministry of Education and has a valid registration certificate;
2). Ensure that the school is registered and coded by KNEC for purposes of administration of grade 3 MLP only;
3). Ensure the school is issued with a username and password by KNEC for purposes of accessing the grade 3 Portal for grade 3 learners;
4). Enroll grade 3 learners by uploading their bio data onto KNEC grade 3 Portal;
5). Verify and confirm that the learners’ details are correctly captured in the KNEC grade 3 database (including learners with special needs in education);
6). Ensure the that the e-readiness questionnaire is filled and submitted to KNEC online;
7). Ensure the head teacher’s administrative feedback questionnaire is filled and submitted to KNEC at the end of the administration of the tools;
8). Receive circulars on administration of grade 3 MLP tools from KNEC through the TSC Sub County Director;
9). Ensure rehearsal is done in preparation for the administration of the Grade 3 MLP tools;
10). Ensure the grade 3 MLP tools are downloaded and copies printed for all the learners as per the instructions;
11). Ensure the school has a secure storage room or lockable cabinet for the storage of the tools and portfolios;
12). Ensure the tools/ materials are securely stored and availed to class teacher as per the timetable;
13). Brief the class teachers on the conduct of grade 3 monitoring of learners’ progress using the guidelines provided by KNEC;
14). Be present in the school when the assessment is in progress to ensure smooth administration of the MLP tools;
15). Handover the MLP tasks to the class teacher as per the scheduled instructions;
16). Monitor the progress / conduct of Grade 3 MLP;
17). Ensure the learners’ work is marked, scored and scores uploaded on the KNEC grade 3 Portal;
18). Report to the Curriculum Support Officer any challenges experienced during downloading, printing, marking, scoring and uploading learners scores;
NB:New schools coded by KNEC for purposes of enrolling grade 3 learners will not automatically qualify to be 2020 KCPE examination centres. Such schools are advised to follow the normal procedure for consideration as KCPE examination centres.
The Role of Subject Teacher
The class teacher is expected to perform the following roles during the administration of grade 3 learners assessment tools.
1). Receive instructions and guidelines for the administration of grade 3 MLP tools from the headteacher;
2). Brief the learners on what is expected of them during the administration of grade 3 monitoring tools;
3). Ensure the classrooms are well arranged and free of stimulus materials i.e. have no writings on the walls;
4). Ensure proper sitting arrangement of the learners during the administration of grade 3 MLP tools. This should be done on the day of rehearsal.
5). Receive from the head teacher all the materials/equipment required to administer the tools i.e. MLP tools/tasks, wall clock(s), bell, stapler, staple pins, chalk and duster.
6). Administer the MLP tools as per the guidelines and instructions issued by KNEC;
7). Prevent malpractices during the administration of the MLP tools to grade learners.
8). Mark, score, fill the score sheet and upload the learners’ scores on the KNEC grade 3 portal.
9). Hand over score sheets to the headteacher upon completion of the marking and uploading of learners’ scores on the KNEC grade 3 portal;
10). Assist the headteacher to fill the online questionnaire on the administration of Grade 3 MLP tools in the school.
11). Ensure that the learners’ portfolios are properly kept and easily retrievable.
12). Ensure that the rooms used by the learners during the administration of grade 3 MLP tasks are:
Clean, well ventilated and free from any stimulus materials;
Adequately spaced not to allow copying from each other;
Ensure adequate facilities are available; this includes desks, wall clock, and seats;
Professional Misconduct
The personnel involved in the administration of Grade 3 MLP tools are expected to adhere to the guidelines issued by KNEC. Any teacher who contravenes these guidelines shall be dealt with according to TSC Act, code of ethics and regulations.
Courtesy of the Kenya National Examinations Council, knec.
Following the adoption of the Competency Based Curriculum into the Kenyan Education System, the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) developed a Competency Based Assessment Framework (CBAF) for Basic Education guided by the Basic Education Curriculum Framework (BECF) and the Curriculum Designs for Early Years of Education (EYE).
In this regard, KNEC has developed assessments tools to be used by schools to assess competency levels among Grade 3 learners who are currently undertaking the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) The instructions herein are therefore to guide in identification and enrollment of all learners in Grade 3 in all schools for the administration of KEYA. It is therefore important that all those concerned with enrollment read and understand the contents of this communication before undertaking the enrollment exercise
PROCEDURE FOR IDENTIFICATION/ENROLLMENT OF GRADE 3 LEARNERS
Identification/enrollment of learners for the KEYA will be done ON-LINE and is scheduled to take place between 1 July and 30 August, 2019. All head-teachers are urged to ensure that all Grade 3 learners in their schools are identified and enrolled within the stipulated period.
KNEC has developed a KEYA portal for use in enrolling Grade 3 learners. The portal is using data from National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) to enable head-teachers identify their learners.
To access the KEYA Portal, head-teachers are expected to do the following:
Visit the KNEC website and click on the link called ‘KEYA portal. – which will direct you to https://cba.knec.ac.ke
Schools which already have a KNEC School Code will log into the KEYA portal using the KNEC School Code as the Username and the Password which they use during KCPE Examination Registration
For Schools that do not have a KNEC School Code, the head-teacher will liaise with their respective Curriculum Support Officer (CSO) who will contact the relevant Sub County Director of Education (SCDE) for coding of the School and onward submission of the School Code details to KNEC to facilitate it’s activation.
Upon successfully logging onto school account, the head-teacher shall be expected to click on the Menu provided on the extreme left of the portal and take the following steps:
Step 1: Click on the KEYA E-readiness questionnaire and provide information required on the school’s capacity to administer KEYA; Step 2: Click ‘Identify/Enroll Learners’ to confirm whether all Grade 3 learners are captured in the KEYA portal provided through NEMIS. By clicking on the button Enroll’ which is on the extreme right on the screen, you will have enrolled the learner. If you wish to edit details on the learner who is already enrolled, click on the ‘Edit’ button; Step 3: Click the button “Add Learner’ to enroll a new Grade III learner who may be missing from the list of learners in your school from the data provided. You will be provided with an option to search details of a learner from the NFMIS database. If you choose NO, the portal will then allow you to register the learner. NB: The option of ‘SNE Pathway’ is for learners who have severe disab lities and do not follow the regular Pathway.
The following are the details of the learner to be captured online: 1). Name of the learner: The names used for KEYA enrollment shall be a replica of the official names of the learner as they appear in the Birth Certificate. The head teacher shall use the correct combination and order of names as they appear on the learner’s Birth Certificate. This must be done in consultation with the parent/guardian of the learner; The name of the learner should not be initialized, it must be written in full 2). Gender of the learner: The gender of the learner shall be indicated as “M” for male or “F” for female. 3). Birth Certificate Number: The Birth Certificate Number, which is the Entry Number (NOT the Serial Number), shall be indicated.
4). Date of birth of the learner: The date of birth of the learner shall be correctly indicated as it appears in the birth certificate. 5). Citizenship of the learner: The status of citizenship of the learner shall be indicated either as Citizen or a Non-citizen. 6). Special Needs and Disability: For learners with Special Needs and disabilities, the nature of disability shall be indicated and the Pathway. The head-teachers can continually amend enrollment details of their learners during the enrolment period before 30 August, 2019 as need arises.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF STAKEHOLDERS FOR THE KEYA ENROLLMENT
The following are the responsibilities of key stakeholders in ensuring effective and accurate enrollment of Grade 3 learners: 1). Sub County Directors of Education (SCDEs); The SCDEs are responsible for the successful enrolment of all Grade 3 learners in their Sub Counties. They are expected to ensure that:- i). All schools in the Sub County are enrolled in the KNEC KEYA portal; ii). All schools without KNEC codes are issued with codes for purposes of enrollment of learners; iii). Once a school has been coded, the Sub county Director of Education is expected to submit the information to KNEC immediately for activation of the school code; iv). Head teachers within their administrative zones identify their learners, edit the details where errors are noted and enroll learners who are not captured in the KEYA data within the stipulated period: v). Assistance/intervention is provided for schools that may experience challenges in accessing KEYA portal; vi). Feedback on the infrastructure required for KEYA (e-Readiness) in schools is submitted to KNEC by 15 July 2019; Head-teachers
2). The Head Teachers.
The head of the institution is directly responsible for enrollment of learners in their schools and are expected to ensure that:
i). All eligible learners in Grade 3 are identified in the KEYA database and those missing are enrolled online; ii). Parents/Guardians of the learners are involved in the enrolment process to ensure that their bio data details are correctly captured in the KEYA database; iii). learners with Special Needs and Disabilities are accurately identified and their information correctly captured during enrollment under the following categories: a). Hearing Impairment; b). Totally Blind: c). Low Vision: d). Deaf Blind; e). Cerebral Palsy; f). Autism; g). Gifted and Talented; h). Intellectual Disability, i). Physical Disability: j). Speech and Language Disorders; k). Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. iv). Learners with Special Needs following the Regular Pathway and those following SNE pathway are identified and correctly enrolled; v). Cases of transfer of learners from one school to another are brought to the attention of the Sub County Director of Education and KNEC.
OTHER INFORMATION ON THE KEYA
1). Assessment Schedule for the KEYA; The schedule for the KEYA shall be provided on the KNEC website: https://www.knec.ac.ke for schools to download for planning purposes. 2). Assessment Areas; The following assessment areas shall be covered under the two Pathways: a). Regular Pathway: Having English Activities; Mathematics Activities; Integrated Learning Areas: (Kiswahili Activities/KSL, Environmental Activities, Movement and Creative activities, Religious activities, Hygiene and Nutrition Activities). NB: Adapted assessment tools will be provided for learners with visual impairment, hearing impairment and physical Disability. b). Stage-Based / SNE Pathway: In this category, Learners will be assessed in the following learning areas: i). Communication, social and Pre-Literacy Skills: ii). Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Religious Education; iii). Integrated Learning Areas (Orientation and Mobility Skills, Pre- Numeracy skills and Sensory- Motor and Creative activities).
