The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. However, private schools in Scotland often choose to follow the English GCSE system.
The Leaving Certificate Examination, commonly referred to as the Leaving Cert or (informally) the Leaving, is the final exam of the Irish secondary school system and the university matriculation examination in Ireland. It takes a minimum of two years' preparation, but an optional Transition Year means that for those students it takes place three years after the Junior Cycle examination. These years are referred to collectively as "The Senior Cycle". Most students taking the examination are aged 16–19; in excess of eighty percent of this group undertake the exam. The Examination is overseen by the State Examinations Commission. The Leaving Certificate Examinations are taken annually by approximately 60,000 students.
The General Certificate of Education (GCE) is a subject-specific family of academic qualifications used in awarding bodies in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Crown dependencies and a few Commonwealth countries. For some time, the Scottish education system has been different from those in the other countries of the United Kingdom.
The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language based secondary qualification similar to the GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognising prior attainment. It was developed by Cambridge Assessment International Education. The examination boards Edexcel, Learning Resource Network (LRN), and Oxford AQA also offer their own versions of International GCSEs. Students normally begin studying the syllabus at the beginning of Year 10 and take the test at the end of Year 11. However, in some international schools, students can begin studying the syllabus at the beginning of Year 9 and take the test at the end of Year 10.
The Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) was a subject-specific qualification family awarded in both academic and vocational fields in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. CSE examinations were held in the years 1965 to 1987. This qualification should not be confused with the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education which is a school-leaving qualification in India. Also, in some African and former British colonial countries there is a qualification named the Certificate of Secondary Education based on the original and former British variant. Also, the CSE should not be confused with the African qualification CSEE.
The Directorate of Government Examinations was formed as a separate directorate in India in February 1975. Prior to the formation of Directorate Of Government Examinations, the then DPI/DSE was the ex-officio commissioner for Government exams and the department was having its office at Madras only. The first secondary school leaving certificate exam was conducted in the year 1911. This directorate started conducting the following major exams from the year noted against each of them in addition to the various examination.
The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) is the national body responsible for overseeing national examinations in Kenya. Its current chairman is Professor Julius Omondi Nyabundi who succeeded Professor John Onsati. This council was established under the Kenya National Examinations Council Act Cap 225A of the Laws of Kenya, in 1980. In 2012 this act was repealed and replaced with KNEC Act No.29 of 2012.
The Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level is a GCE Ordinary Level examination held annually in Singapore and is jointly conducted by the Ministry of Education (MOE), Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) and the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES). Students are graded in the bands ranging from A to F and each band has a respective grade point, a lower grade point indicates poor performance. The number at the end of each grade corresponds to the grade point that they receive. To pass an individual O-Level subject, a student must score at least C6 or above. The highest grade a student can attain is A1.
In India, board examinations refer to the public examinations that are conducted at the completion of secondary and senior secondary education.
The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) was a certificate awarded to students after completing the approved eight-year course in primary education in Kenya. The examination was supervised by the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC), an examining body in Kenya under the Ministry of Education. The same body also conducted and regulated the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), a certificate awarded to students after completing secondary education. KCPE and KCSE were both started in 1985 when the 8-4-4 system of education was introduced in Kenya.The last KCPE examination, under this system was done on November 1, 2023 at 11am. These exams were replaced by KPSEA.
The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is a type of standardized test in West Africa. Students who pass the exam receive a certificate confirming their graduation from secondary education. It is administered by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). It is only offered to candidates residing in Anglophone West African countries. The academic school-leaving qualification awarded upon successful completion of the exams is the West African Senior School Certificate.
Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC), Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) or Higher Secondary Education Certificate (HSEC) is a secondary education qualification in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. It is equivalent to the final year of high school in the United States and GCSE and/or A level in the United Kingdom.
The A-level is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational authorities of British Crown dependencies to students completing secondary or pre-university education. They were introduced in England and Wales in 1951 to replace the Higher School Certificate. The A-level permits students to have potential access to a chosen university they applied to with UCAS points. They could be accepted into it should they meet the requirements of the university.
The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) is an examination organised by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA). The HKDSE examination is Hong Kong's university entrance examination, administered at the completion of a three-year senior secondary education, allowing students to gain admissions to undergraduate courses at local universities through JUPAS. Since the implementation of the New Senior Secondary academic structure in 2012, HKDSE replaced the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination and Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination.
The O-Level is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It began in the United Kingdom and has been adopted, often with modifications, in several other countries.
Academic grading in Kenya is the grading system of Kenya.
The A level, is a main school leaving qualification of the General Certificate of Education in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It is available as an alternative qualification in other countries, where it is similarly known as an A-Level.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is a national level board of education in India for public and private schools, controlled and managed by the Government of India. Established in 1929 by a resolution of the government, the Board was an experiment towards inter-state integration and cooperation in the sphere of secondary education. There are more than 27,000 schools in India and 240 schools in 28 foreign countries affiliated to the CBSE. All schools affiliated to CBSE follow the NCERT curriculum especially from class 9 to 12. The current Chairperson of CBSE is Rahul Singh, IAS.
Fred Okengo Matiang'i is a former Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government. He assumed office on 8 July 2017 on acting capacity after the sudden Demise of Joseph ole Nkaissery, making him hold two cabinet positions concurrently, that is in the ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government and Education, Science and Technology. He took up the full position of cabinet secretary for Internal Security and Coordination of National Government after being appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta in January 2018 in the president's second comprehensive cabinet appointments. On 22 January 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta, through Executive Order Number 1 of 2019, appointed him chairperson of the National Development Implementation and Communication Cabinet Committee. The committee is composed of all Cabinet Secretaries, The Attorney-General and the Head of the Public Service who acts as the secretariat.
