The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has organized special KCSE exams for eight members of the Kenya Women Under-17 national team to accommodate their World Cup participation.
Set for November, the Women’s Under-17 World Cup in the Dominican Republic will coincide with the KCSE exams, causing the players to miss them.
The main papers of the national exam are slated to begin on November 4 and conclude on November 22.
At the same time, Kenya’s Women’s World Cup Group C fixtures are scheduled from October 18 to 24, with the quarter-final matches taking place between October 26 and 28.
The teams that advance from the quarter-finals will move on to the final stages, culminating in the World Cup final on November 3.
As a result, KNEC has committed to ensuring the affected students complete their exams prior to the final paper.
“The council will liaise with centre managers of the affected six secondary schools and make appropriate arrangements within the examination period for administration of the 2024 KCSE papers that clash with the World Cup fixtures,” KNEC wrote to the PS for Youth Affairs in a letter signed by CEO David Njegere.
KNEC’s decision comes after Nominated MP Irene Mayaka addressed the National Assembly, inquiring about the measures being implemented to ensure students can participate fully in the World Cup without missing or stressing over their exams.
She expressed concern that the overlap between the fixtures and the exams would result in the students missing important exams, presenting a significant challenge to their future prospects.
“It is crucial and imperative that we support these young and ambitious players in their dual pursuit of academic excellence and academic success,” the MP told Speaker Moses Wetang’ula when she sought the statement from the departmental committee on Sports and Culture.
KNEC has urged authorities to guarantee that students return to their schools immediately after their teams finish participating in the World Cup.
“We appeal to the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports to consider making travel arrangements for the candidates to be back at their respective schools as soon as their active participation in the tournament ends,” the examination coucil implored.
