The Common Entrance Examination is conducted at the end of the primary education cycle and administered to students who are 11 to 13 years of age.

The Examination serves two main purposes. Firstly, it is a selection examination to facilitate the enrollment of students in secondary schools. Secondly, and more importantly, it provides a comprehensive assessment of the extent to which students have attained the learning outcomes and performance standards approved by the Ministry of Education. The second reason for the examination is one that will always be important to the nation in evaluating the quality of primary education in the country.

The Common Entrance Examination will therefore be done every year. While the format and the structures of the examination will be reviewed, to improve its validity and usefulness, it will nonetheless continue to be done to provide information to improve the quality of teaching and learning in the education system.