KNEC To Introduce Questionnaires For Grade 9 Students: How They Will Be Used

The Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) on Thursday, December 19 announced that it will start administering questionnaires to Grade 9 students.

KNEC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Njengere announced that the questionnaires would be administered to the first Grade 9 class next year, detailing that they will be used to ascertain the career paths students want to take in Senior Secondary School (SSS) which begins in Grade 10.

Njengere added that the questionnaires will supplement the assessment that will be undertaken during the academic year.

"Apart from achievement assessments, we will also administer a questionnaire to Grade 9 learners to explore their interests and other personal attributes that will speak to the kind of pathways and tracks that they will pursue in Senior School," Njengere informed.

Photo of KNEC CEO David Njengere. /CAPITAL GROUUP

The body aims to ensure that a student chooses a career path that works well for their future and that nothing is imposed on them by force.

The career paths to be taken by students in SSS include Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Social Sciences (humanities), and Performing Arts, Music, and Athletics.

Different subjects will also be offered depending on the career paths. For instance, students who choose STEM as a career path will study subjects like Mathematics Advanced, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, General Science, Agriculture, and Aviation Technology among others.

Some of the subjects to be offered to students in the Social Sciences career path include Literature in English, Fasihi ya Kiswahili, French, German, History and Citizenship, and Religious Education among others.

Those in the Performing Arts career path will study Sports and Recreation, Physical Education, Music and Dance among others. The first Senior Secondary School (SSS) class (Grade 10) will be in 2026.

The CEO was speaking during a stakeholders' engagement on the implementation of Competency-Based Education (CBE) where he challenged the stakeholders to trust the ability of teachers to administer the School Based Assessments (SBAs) since they have been doing it since 2019.

"Since 2019, teachers have been administering these SBAs and I can assure you that we’ve been getting a normal curve, which shows that the teachers are very objective and professional," Njengere assured.

With Kenya preparing for the grade 9 evaluation next year, KNEC has taken a section of teachers for a seminar to familiarize them with the new national assessment formula. The teachers were picked from 235 schools that participated in the Kenya Junior Secondary Education Assessment (KJSEA) pilot program last year.

The seminar is aimed to gather feedback from teachers, school heads, and students with a learner questionnaire being used to gauge academic preferences and personality traits. “This assessment is an essential tool for identifying each learner’s potential and guiding them toward a path that suits their interests and skills,” Anne Ngatia, KNEC’s Director of Research and Innovation reiterated.

KJSEA aims to play a significant role in shaping students' future career paths.  This move is part of the broader goal to ensure that the education system is more aligned with learners’ strengths, skills, talents, and aspirations.