By Getrude Matayo
The Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) has postponed the National assessment tests for Grade Four and Class eight pupils that were set to begin on Monday 19th October to 21st October 2021.T
KNEC acting Chief Executive officer Mercy Karogo said the decision was informed by the Mashujaa Day Celebration slated for Tuesday, October 20th.
The exams that were slated for Monday, have been pushed forward by two days to Wednesday after Kenya National Examination Council issued a circular to headteachers across the country.
“The purpose of this letter, therefore, is to inform you that due to the Mashujaa Day celebrations on October 20th, the date for administration of learning assessment tools has changed,” KNEC said in a statement.
The exams will now end on Monday, October 26th after the new dates were announced by the exams body
Students were expected to start with Mathematics, English, and composition on the first day; Science, Kiswahili, and Insha on the second day and social studies and religion on the third day.
The acting KNEC CEO added that upon resumption of other classes, exams will also be issued to the students.
According to the research, a long period away from face-to-face learning leads to learning loss. It is therefore important to establish the entry behavior of the learners after the reopening of schools in order to give focused intervention to mitigate learning loss.
The assessment tests are geared at establishing whether students are ready to continue with their studies following a 7-month break from school on account of the covid-19 pandemic.
KNEC further noted that the assessment of students in other classes would be concluded upon the reopening of specific classes.
A definite date for the resumption of other classes is yet to be issued by the Ministry of Education for Grade one to three, class five to class eight, and Form one to three.
According to a statement that was released last week on Thursday by the KNEC CEO Dr. Mercy Karogo, the assessment will cover all topics that should have been covered by March 2020.
KNEC stated that teachers shall confirm the attendance of learners, account for any absentees, and brief on the assessment. In particular, teachers should inform the learners that the assessment are not examinations.
The assessment was to help learners adjust and refocus from the seven-month break with the majority of students unable to access online classes.