Kenya’s KNEC Set to Roll Out In-House National Exams Printing
Tuesday, August 1st, the Presidential Working Group on Education Reform (PWPER) committee recommended that the Kenya National Exam Council (KNEC) publish national examinations.
If ratified, the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) will no longer be printed in the United Kingdom, as has been the case for decades.
The task force tasked with enhancing the effectiveness of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CB) expressed confidence in KNEC, stating that it had demonstrated the capability of preventing exam leaks and enhancing its credibility.
“Develop KNEC’s capacity to print National Assessments in Kenya,” the committee, led by University of Nairobi professor Raphael Munavu, recommended in its report to President William Ruto.
In addition to printing exams in Kenya, the committee recommended that KNEC enhance its portal to permit instructors to upload scores without the risk of compromise.
In this regard, stakeholders suggested that external assessment by the KNEC be given greater weight in determining the overall performance of learners.
However, the task force advocated for a site audit after discovering that some instructors had a propensity to upload fabricated scores. According to reports, some institutions were unable to access the portal due to factors such as inadequate ICT infrastructure and poor internet connectivity.
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In addition, stakeholders advocated for the decentralization of KNEC services to the counties to ensure effective monitoring of Competency-Based Assessment (CBA) and teacher capacity development in assessment-related matters.
Additional Recommendations
To avoid future education crises, the task force urged the government to prioritize investments in foundational learning.
The committee chaired by Raphael Munavu advised, “Basic literacy, numeracy, and transferable skills such as social and emotional skills are essential building blocks for acquiring higher order skills.”
In addition, it requested that the Ministry of Education eliminate the categorization of public secondary schools as National, Extra-county, County, and Sub-county and replace it with a classification based on career pathways for Senior schools.
CS Education After renaming the Education Management Information System (EMIS) to the Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS), Ezekiel Machogu and Kithure Kindiki were instructed to integrate birth registration and capture students in tertiary and vocational institutions as well as school-age learners who are out of school.
EMIS is a system that collects, integrates, processes, maintains, and disseminates data and information to support policy formulation, analysis, and decision-making.
Further, the Parliament was urged to enact the proposed Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill to merge the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), the Universities Funding Board (UFB), and the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Fund to improve the efficiency of student loans.
Kenya’s KNEC Set to Roll Out In-House National Exams Printing
