Keep security and State officials off exam venues

For several years now, sanity has been restored in our national examinations at primary and secondary school levels, thanks to the current and previous leaderships at the Ministry of Education. However, more still needs to be done to give credence to the whole exam process. There are many loose ends that should be tied to make us give the viva cry.

The truth is that we all need to take a moment of introspection to support efforts by the Government to sanitise our exams. We had sunk to the lowest of dark depths in the pre-Matiang’i days. As parents, teachers and examination managers, we were all guilty of examination malfeasance. Don’t get your dander up, you were culpable either directly or indirectly. Many parents colluded with teachers to buy examination papers to give their children an advantage, some officers entrusted with taking custody of the examinations sold the papers to the highest bidder. Today, the effect of those actions are wreaking havoc on society.

We should nonetheless find solace in the Government’s efforts to make our examinations reproach-free. An examination is not a one shop process. It begins with adequate preparation of the candidates. This should be done immediately a learner is enrolled in a school. Teachers should strive to cover the syllabus, but this should be done in a manner that engenders deep learning. Effective teaching demands that teachers be supported in their efforts to guide the learner through the curriculum.

Domain based

Of essence here should be making the teachers enjoy good terms and conditions of service. Unfortunately, this is an area where the Government’s score card is quite dismal. Our problem in the exam system begins with poor teaching, which partly stems from a demotivated, lazy and inept workforce. Coupled with selfishness and shaky moral standing, we need not look far to get the problem’s beacons in our teacher population.

There is a problem with how the examinations are set. Most of the items test lower order levels in the cognitive domain. Questions fall under knowledge, comprehension and application levels.

Very few questions in virtually all the subjects revolve around analysis, synthesis and evaluation levels, which are the higher order. Although the 8-4-4 system is premised on the content or objective-based curriculum, there is need to assess both the psycho motor and affective domain based aspects of learning. With a little thinking and tact, this can be done for the learners.  We need to test  knowledge, skills and the values our children have gained in their learning cycle from the lowest to the highest levels as we pay attention to the rules governing the distribution of test items across the test grid.

The period between the setting and commencement of the examinations is another area which yearns for improvement. Parents, children and teachers are living in fear from the threats being strewn by top ministry officials. Counties have been adjudged cheating hot-spots. Can the teachers, learners and parents in such locales live in an enabling environment for examinations? What are we trying to tell the country about these regions? What of the candidates and those mandated to take them through the exercise?

Learner motivation

Must the exams be managed partly by the Security and allied ministries? Is the Ministry of Education personnel not responsible enough? I believe county and sub-county directors of education can manage the exams just as well as their counterparts from the Interior docket.

That top ministry, and at times senior leaders’ visits to examinations venues before the commencement of exams is inimical to good practice in exam administration. Their presence is deleterious to learner motivation; it adds no value to the examination management process. Allow invigilators, supervisors and heads of the centres to manage the exercise.

For cheating to be further checked, there is need to look at the integrity of invigilators and supervisors. Collusion and impersonation can only be eliminated when the candidates are monitored to the letter according to the examination rules. This can only be done by those entrusted with the direct administration of the exams. They need to be people whose integrity is beyond reproach. We also need to train exam managers and remunerate them well to preclude temptations.

The canker of examinations malpractice will only be addressed through a concerted societal effort. Militarisation and governance through threats will only tackle the problem superficially. Teachers are at the centre of negating the vice. They only need to be paragons of virtue as they get the support of the Government.

It’s time we went back to the old days when examination period was not a period of threats to some stakeholders or a season for cheating by candidates under the tutelage of the teachers with the help of parents. Let’s give the learners an enabling examination environment.

Dr Ndaloh is a curriculum and teaching expert at Moi University. ndaloagumba@yahoo.com