KCSE 2022 Agriculture Project 443/3 Instructions, Marking Schemes

The Kenya National Examinations Council, Knec, has released project instructions for the 443/3 Agriculture 2022 KCSE project. There are two alternative projects, namely Project A and Project B. Each school should  select only one alternative.

It is therefore necessary for the Agriculture teacher to discuss the  alternatives with the School Principal and the candidates so as to select the most appropriate  alternative.

The Agriculture Teacher will mark all candidates’ projects and they should be accessible for monitoring by authorized KNEC agent(s).

443/3 AGRICULTURE PROJECT GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

The Agriculture teacher, School Principal and candidates should discuss the alternative projects  and make a suitable choice appropriate for the school as soon as this document is received from  the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC).

These instructions, together with the marking schemes should then be printed and distributed to all the candidates

Each candidate should read the instructions, conceptualize and write a brief description of how  he or she plans to carry out the project. The candidate should keep this write up in his or her  project portfolio (file or folder). The portfolio can be physical or electronic in a computer or  other digital storage devices. The electronic portfolio should also be accessible to the School  Principal, and Deputy Principal.

The candidate should then submit a summary of his/her project requirements to the Agriculture teacher who will then compile for the school to provide the inputs.

Each candidate is required to maintain a collection of evidence of performance on the specified  milestones at different stages of project implementation. The pieces of evidence should include  write ups, photographs and video recordings (where appropriate). Maintenance of a project  portfolio of evidence will be monitored and assessed.

The candidates are individually required to keep records of their project activities and  observations which they will later use to write the final project report.

Each candidate should be supplied with an adequate number of ruled A4 papers on which to  write the initial project description and final project report. Each of these should be between 1, 000  and 1, 500 words. Alternatively, the report can be typed and printed.

In addition, each candidate should be given a declaration form which will make the cover page of the report.

The school should provide adequate security for the candidates’ projects.

The project chosen by the school must be seen and treated as an examination. It must therefore be  the candidate’s true and unaided work. At the same time the scores awarded by the Agriculture  teacher must be objective and remain confidential.

The Agriculture teacher should assess each candidate’s project from time to time using the  marking scheme and time lines provided by KNEC and enter the marks in the individual  candidate project assessment sheets. It is absolutely important that the marks are entered in the  project assessment sheets immediately after each assessment.

All the project assessment sheets must be kept under lock and key in the School Principal’s office  in a sealed envelope. They should be made available only to the Agriculture teacher whenever the  teacher is going to assess the project or an authorized KNEC agent. The sheets must be returned  to the School Principal immediately after each assessment.

The School Principal should check to ensure that scores are entered on the assessment sheets  after every assessment. In the absence of the School Principal, the Deputy School Principal  should be in charge of the custody of the documents.

The candidate scores on the project, together with a pictorial evidence of the entire school  project status will be electronically submitted to KNEC twice. Milestone I by 31st July 2022 and milestone II by 31st October 2022.

The Agriculture teacher should transfer the total score of each candidate from the assessment  sheet to the Manual Mark Sheet. The scores, together with a photograph showing the project  status for the entire class at the time the last assessment was done should be uploaded on the  KNEC Portal. The photograph should be in .gif or .jpeg format. It should capture the school  Principal, Agriculture teacher and candidates standing at their respective projects in full school  uniform. This should be done following the time lines provided.

The index numbers of candidates should be entered in assessment sheets and manual mark sheets  in ascending order ensuring that all candidates have the same Index Numbers as in the final  examination. 

The KNEC Portal will only be accessible for the uploading of scores from 1st to 31st July  2022 for milestone I and 1st to 31st October 2022 for milestone II. The scores once  uploaded cannot be accessed for alteration.

The Agriculture Teacher should write a brief report about the centre using the centre report  form provided by KNEC.

The project implementation and assessment should be completed by the end of October 2022. 

At the end of the project, the School Principal must ensure that the Assessment Sheets and Manual Mark Sheet are duly filled, signed and stamped. All the candidates’ Agriculture Project  Reports, Project Assessment Sheets, Manual Mark Sheets and Project Report Form for the  centre should be packed and handed over to the Sub-County Director of Education in the first week of November 2022. 

The Sub-County Director of Education will then hand over all the documents to the Kenya  National Examinations Council.

443/3 AGRICULTURE PROJECT SELECTION

PROJECT A: CROP PRODUCTION  

1. Each school should select only one crop from the following:
2. a) Kales (Brassica oleracea)
3. b) Maize (Zea mays)
4. c) Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa)
5. d) Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus)

Note: The crop and variety chosen should be able to mature for harvesting within the  stipulated period of the project

2. The Project work should be carried out by the candidates in the Form IV class between April  and October 2022.
3. The variety of crop should be suited to the ecological zone of the school.
4. The school should acquire seeds or seedlings to be able to provide them to the candidates at  the time of planting.
5. Each candidate should be allocated a space on which to carry out the project. Candidates are  not limited to the 4m x 3m plot. They are encouraged to use other innovative ways of  growing the selected crop. The candidates’ projects should be numbered according to the  candidates’ Index Numbers in ascending order.
6. After space allocation, candidates should be instructed to grow the selected crop up to  harvesting by applying appropriate agronomic and management practices.
7. The Agriculture Teacher should assess each candidate’s project using the marking scheme  provided by KNEC.
8. The Agriculture Teacher should then mark each candidate’s project report out of 20 marks  using the guidelines provided by KNEC. The marks for each candidate should be entered in  the appropriate column on the assessment sheet.
9. The total score of each candidate should then be transferred from the assessment sheet to the  manual mark sheet. Ensure that these scores are entered according to candidates’ index  numbers in ascending order.
10. The project should be concluded and handed over to the school by the end of October 2022.

PROJECT B: LIVESTOCK REARING 

1. Each school should select only one type of livestock from the following:
2. a) Chicken – (two per candidate)
3. b) Rabbits – (two per candidate)
4. c) Pigs – (one per candidate)
5. d) Goats/sheep – (one per candidate)
6. This project shall be carried out from April 2022 and candidates should conclude it by  the end of October 2022, when they should hand over the project to the school. The  school should then make appropriate decision and arrangement on how best to rear the  livestock or dispose of them.
7. Schools choosing this project shall be required to provide each candidate with the  following facilities:

(a) Housing structures

Each candidate should be provided with appropriate housing structure for the  class of livestock selected by 15th May 2022 latest. The housing structures may  be bought or made by the school. The dimensions of the housing structure should  be appropriate to the class of livestock selected. It is important to ensure the  following:

(i) Proper ventilation and lighting;

(ii) The roof should be waterproof if the housing structure is to be kept outdoors;

(iii)The floor of the housing structure may be weld mesh, slatted timber, earthen or concrete;

(iv)Housing structures may be singly or in several units attached horizontally.  The chicken/rabbit houses may be placed on top of each other up to a maximum of three tiers;

(v) Housing structures can be placed indoors or outdoors depending on design and security arrangements;

(vi)Each house should be lockable. One of the keys to the house should be  labelled and kept at the Head teacher’s office. The other key should be kept by the candidate for regular use.

Each candidate should

▪ Write his or her full index number on the housing structure provided;

▪ Equip the house with a feeder and waterer;

▪ Equip the house with a record keeping card;

▪ Inventively make other preparation on the housing to make it ready for  rearing the livestock.

(b) Livestock 

A school selecting this project should acquire and give the selected class of  livestock to candidates by 31st May 2022.

Note: Procurement of livestock is the responsibility of the school and  NOT that of the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC).

(c) Means of weighing 

The school should provide a portable means of weighing or estimating weight  up to 100 kg.

(d) Feeds 

The school should provide enough feeds to each candidate for feeding the  livestock.

• After the candidates have been provided with the facilities outlined in (2) above, they  should be instructed to:
•   a) weigh the livestock accurately and record their weights on a record card;
•    b) rear the livestock up to the end of project period;
•  c) keep records of the activities carried out and observations made during the  rearing period. These records will be used by the candidates to write their  final report. The records should be written on a record card and hung  securely inside the cage/house.
•  d) avail the records to the agriculture teacher or KNEC agent whenever required

4.The Agriculture teacher should assess each candidate’s project two times (the 1st for  milestone I and the 2nd for milestone II) using the marking scheme provided by KNEC.  The scores for milestone I assessment should be uploaded by 31stJuly 2022 and the  ones for milestone II by 31st October 2022.

5.The Agriculture teacher should then mark each candidate’s project report out of 20 marks  using the guidelines provided by KNEC. All the marks for each candidate should be  entered in the appropriate column of the assessment sheet.

6.The total score of each candidate should then be transferred from the assessment sheet to  the manual mark sheet. Ensure that these scores are entered according to candidates’  index numbers in ascending order.

7.The project should be concluded and handed over to the school by the end of October  2022.