The Kenya National Exam Council (KNEC) should publish national tests, according to a recommendation made by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform (PWPER) committee on Tuesday, August 1.
If implemented, the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) will no longer be printed in the UK, breaking a long-standing practise.
The task group, which was created to boost the effectiveness of the competency-based curriculum (CB), expressed trust in KNEC, noting that it has demonstrated its ability to reduce exam leaks and boost credibility.
“Develop the capacity of KNEC to print National Assessments in Kenya,” the committee, headed by University of Nairobi professor, Raphael Munavu, recommended in the report handed over to President William Ruto at State House, Nairobi.Â
The committee suggested that KNEC upgrade its system so that teachers could input scores without worrying about security breaches rather than simply printing examinations in Kenya.
“In this regard, the stakeholders recommended that external assessment by the KNEC should carry more weight in determining the overall performance of learners,” read part of the report.
However, the task group argued in favour of a site audit after learning that some teachers had a propensity for uploading phoney test results. According to reports, several schools were reportedly unable to access the portal because of a number of issues, including poor internet connectivity and insufficient ICT infrastructure.
Additionally, stakeholders suggested decentralising KNEC services to the counties for efficient Competency Based Assessment (CBA) monitoring and teacher capacity building in assessment-related issues.
To prevent future educational crises, the task team encouraged the government to prioritise funding fundamental education.
Essential building blocks for gaining higher order skills include basic literacy, numeracy, and transferable abilities like social and emotional intelligence.