Instructions to Schools
Each school presenting candidates for Agriculture (443) in the KCSE examination for the year 2024 will produce adequate copies of this document. One copy of the document will be for the Head teacher and the others for the teacher in charge of Agriculture project hereafter referred to as the Agriculture teacher and the candidates.
The Head teacher and the Agriculture teacher should each read the document carefully. Relevant information should then be conveyed to the candidates as soon as possible to enable them to carry out the project in good time.
The Agriculture Teacher will mark all candidates’ projects.
The projects should be accessible to authorised KNEC monitoring agent(s).
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
1. The School Principal should download the instructions for the 2024 KCSE Agriculture Project and together with the teacher of Agriculture read the instructions to understand the requirements and implementation procedures. Each candidate should also be provided with a copy of these instructions and the scoring guides.
2. The 2024 KCSE Agriculture Project will be based on income generation under the following sub-themes:
a) Planting and care for trees
(at least 100 trees planted and managed per group. Select tree species of your choice and avoid shrubs)
b) Growing a cereal crop
(at least 100 plants under irrigation per group. Select a crop species and variety of your choice)
c) Goat rearing
(at least one goat per group. Select a breed of your choice)
d) Rabbit rearing
(at least two rabbits per group. Select a breed of your choice)
3. Individually, candidates should analyse the school community (within the school and/or around the school) and identify the most pressing problem or issue they can help address using any one of the above projects. Each candidate should prepare and make a presentation of their choice to the class. The presentation should demonstrate how the project will generate income and the amount expected. The presentation should be video recorded by one of the candidates and when it is his/her turn to present, another candidate should take over and record the video. The video recording of the presentation should be maintained in the candidate’s project portfolio as evidence. (The video recording can be done using a video recorder, smart phone, or digital camera. The use of these digital devices should be guided or supervised. Digital devices can be borrowed from public primary schools in the neighbourhood.)
4. In groups of up to five members, the candidates should discuss the issues or problems they identified and choose the most pressing one to be addressed by their group. The group members should then use their own observations, books, newspapers, magazines, radio, television, guided internet, opinion of teachers, school administration, school workers, elders and experts in the community to search for information and prepare a write up for the project selected by the group. The write up should contain the following:
a) appropriate title
b) introduction
c) identification of the issue/problem and project to address it
d) project objectives
e) project description
f) project implementation procedures
g) budget
h) project implementation plan and timelines
i) evaluation
j) conclusion
k) project team
5. Group members should then jointly make a presentation to the school community on how the group will implement the project selected to address the issue identified. The school community should then brainstorm the problems or issues presented by the groups and select one for implementation. The group presentations to the school community should be video recorded and maintained in the portfolio as evidence. (The school should organize a session for the groups to present to the school community).
NOTE: The 1st presentations and the 1st draft of the project write up should be completed by the end of Milestone I.
6. The final presentations and project write up should be completed by the end of Milestone II. The final presentations will be done jointly by the group members to reflect on the following a) Experiences during project implementation
b) What worked well
c) How they benefited from the project
d) What they will do differently in future projects.
7. In their groups, candidates together with the other members of the school community as volunteers should implement the selected project to address the problem or issue identified.
NOTE: Project implementation (actual tree planting/crop production/livestock rearing should start by the end of February 2024.
8. Each group’s project should be identified by a poster showing the group number, group members and their index numbers.
9. Each group is required to maintain a collection of evidence of performance on the specified milestones at different stages of project implementation. The pieces of evidence should be maintained in the portfolio.
10. The candidates will be assessed on the following:
a) Maintaining portfolio of evidence
b) Listening to others
c) Speaking and oral presentation
d) Project write up.
e) Collaboration with others
f) Implementation of the project selected
11. The school should provide adequate security for the candidates’ project. 12. The project chosen by the school community must be seen and treated as an examination. The scores awarded by the agriculture teacher must be objective and remain confidential. 13. The agriculture teacher should assess each candidate’s project from time to time using the marking scheme and timelines provided by KNEC and enter the marks in the individual candidate project assessment sheets. It is important that the marks are entered in the project assessment sheets immediately after each assessment.
14. The score awarded to the group should be transferred to each member of the group. 15. All the project assessment sheets must be kept under lock and key in the School Principal’s office in a sealed envelope. They should be made available only to the agriculture teacher whenever the teacher is going to assess the project or an authorized KNEC agent. The sheets must be returned to the School Principal immediately after each assessment.
16. The School Principal should check to ensure that scores are recorded in the assessment sheets after every assessment. In the absence of the School Principal, the Deputy School Principal should be in custody of the documents.
17. The candidate scores on the project, together with pictorial evidence of the entire school project status will be electronically submitted to KNEC twice. Milestone I by 31st March 2024 and milestone II by 31st July 2024.
18. The agriculture teacher should transfer the total score of each candidate from the assessment sheet to the Manual Mark Sheet. The scores, together with a photograph showing the project status for the entire class at the time the last assessment was done should be uploaded on the KNEC Portal. The photograph should be in .gif or .jpeg format. It should capture the school Principal, Agriculture teacher and candidates standing at their respective projects in full school uniform. This should be done following the timelines provided.
19. The index numbers of candidates should be entered in assessment sheets and manual mark sheets in ascending order ensuring that all candidates have the same Index Numbers as in the final examination.
20. The KNEC Portal will only be accessible for the uploading of scores from 1st to 31st March 2024 for milestone I and 1st to 31st July 2024 for milestone II. The scores once uploaded cannot be accessed for alteration.
21. The Agriculture Teacher should write a brief report about the centre using the centre report form provided by KNEC.
22. The project implementation and assessment should be completed by the end of July 2024.
23. At the end of the project, the School Principal must ensure that the Assessment Sheets and Manual Mark Sheet are duly filled, signed, and stamped. All the candidates’ Agriculture Project write ups, Project Assessment Sheets, Manual Mark Sheets and Project Report Form for the centre should be packed and handed over to the Sub-County Director of Education at the end of the first week of August 2024.
24. The Sub-County Director of Education will then hand over all the documents to the Kenya National Examinations Council.