• Just like for KCPE and KCSE, the learners will first register for the assessment before sitting them between September 16 and 20.
• Under the guidelines, KNEC wants schools to capture six key details of every child.
Some parents are yet to acquire birth certificates, required for today's registration of Grade 3 learners for the national assessment.
Just like for KCPE and KCSE, the learners will first register for the assessment before sitting them between September 16 and 20.
The registration of learners will be done between today to the end of August.
Under the guidelines, KNEC wants schools to capture six key details of every child.
The name of the learner must mirror what is contained in the birth certificates.
The name order must be maintained and they must not be recorded as initials.
Knec also instructs teachers to record the gender of the learners, the birth certificate number, date of birth, citizenship and special needs/disability condition.
Sub-county directors of education, headteachers, parents and guardians each have distinct roles to play in the identification and registration of the learners for the tests.
However, Kenya Parents Association has raised concern that most of the learners targeted could be lacking the crucial document required for registration.
"Most parents are yet to acquire birth certificate for their learners and the registration has caught them by surprise. We seek the government to help the parents to have a way they can acquire the birth certificates faster so that the registration process will not be slowed down," Maiyo told the Star yesterday.
Duplication
Duplication of birth certificates numbers has also derailed registration of learners in the NEMIS portal in secondary schools.
Students being admitted in Form 1 this year were required to register through the National Education Management Information System.
This will be the same system used to register learners for the Grade 3 test.
However, the registration kicked out some students from the platform over duplication of the birth certificate numbers.
It is now a puzzle on how the ministry plans to correct the situation as this could also pose a challenge in the process that kicks off today.
Details on the assessment, dubbed Kenya Early Years Assessment, show that it will be a normal internal examination but schools will be required to send the results to the national examinations council for assessment.
The assessment is the first critical step towards a departure from national examinations and will culminate in the elimination of the KCPE examination by 2023.
The Kenya National Examinations Council also plans to test the learners in Grade 6 before they proceed to secondary school where they will also be tested in Grade 9, the equivalent of Form 2 in the current 8-4-4 system.
Unlike KCPE and KCSE examinations that are set by external examiners contracted by the examinations council, Keya will be set, assessed and marked by the teachers trained for the new curriculum.
Each school will be required to prepare its own set of examination papers. The test will not be standard as in the case for KCPE and KCSE.
The role of Knec will be to set the standards and regulations of testing the learners. It will give guidelines, instructions and the tools to guide the assessment.
The council will also be responsible for compiling the results that teachers will fill in the Knec portal.