Some 132,900 primary school pupils in the country have begun writing the government Common Entrance Examination, which will enable them to gain admission into secondary schools.
The exam, coming one week after the First School Leaving Certificate practicals, will be concluded by 1 pm today.
The pupils will be tested in Mathematics and English Language, which are essential subjects for their transition into secondary school.
According to Forbina Mugambe, Chief of Service at the Ministry of Basic Education in charge of Anglophone Exams, everything has been put in place to ensure writing goes smoothly.
The candidates will be writing in over 800 centres nationwide.
“The Minister has already put at the disposal of devolved services all the relevant texts and secular that will ensure good conduct of the examination,” said Forbina Mugambe.
He said all the exam materials had been sent to the regional delegations about two weeks ago.
The exams, he added, starts at 7:30 am with a roll call, followed by Mathematics at 8 am, and then English Language papers one and two at 1 pm.
This year, the number of candidates has increased from 130,632 registered last year to 132,900. This might be owed to an improvement in access to education in the North West and South West Regions, where armed conflict has previously derived hundreds of thousands of children from acquiring formal education.
In Buea, headquarters of the South West Region, pupils could be seen as early as 6:20 am, heading to the centres dotted around the city.
The Common Entrance exam is being written for one day, and those who pass List A will go to the secondary schools of their choice.
The writing is coming one week after the pupils did the practical session of the First School Leaving Certificate that will be written in the coming weeks.
Prior to the exam, schools had called on parents to encourage and support the pupils, noting that teachers had done their best.
