Make us proud! Ruto tells KCPE, KPSEA candidates as exams start

President William Ruto has urged the pupils sitting for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) examinations to do their best.

Passing a message of encouragement, the President told the students to remain confident as they entered the examination rooms.

"To all candidates who are doing this exam today, I wish you all the best and success in these exams. As you go into the exam room know that you are not alone so be confident, do your best," Ruto said on Monday.

Over 3.5 million candidates will sit for this year's exams which will run from October 30 to November 24 with KCPE and KPSEA ending on November 1.

Of these, 1.4 million are KCPE candidates, with 1.2 million KAPSEA candidates while 903,260 will sit for the KCSE exams.

Speaking at Kikuyu Township Primary School in Kiambu, the Head of State assured the students that the government has created a conducive environment to ensure a seamless transition into the next education levels.

"I see you are ready for the exams as your teachers have done an excellent job of preparing you for today," Ruto said.

He commended the candidates for the preparations they had done ahead of the exams.

Ruto told the candidates that they should know that the government has an opportunity for every child to progress their education to the next level.

"I want you to make us proud, you are the wealth of our nation, the future of our country and we have placed education as our priority. You are the biggest asset," he said.

The President went ahead and prayed for the candidates asking God to give them wisdom.

He was accompanied by Education CS Ezekiel Machogu, Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi and National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah.

Unlike in KCPE exams where candidates are rated out of 100 per cent, KPSEA only accounts for 40 per cent of the final score.

The other 60 per cent comes from classroom-based continuous assessment tests conducted in Grades 4, 5 and 6

The government has deployed at least 60,000 security personnel across the country to secure the national examination centres and ensure the credibility of the exams.

The mobilised security agents include National Police Service (NPS) officers and National Government Administration Officials (NGAOs).