Exam council to be restructured in line with new curriculum

The Government will restructure the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) to align it with the new Competency Based Curriculum (CBC).

A new policy paper by the Ministry of Education says the Government will undertake measures meant to standardise assessment of core learning outcomes, transferable skills and subject-related knowledge.

The document dubbed Sessional Paper on Reforming Education and Training for Sustainable Development 2018says that the restructuring will allow Knec to respond to “emerging global assessment trends.”

It adds that the current assessment after learners complete primary and secondary education does not adequately measure learners' abilities.

“The current system of summative assessment at the end of the various cycles, together with the limited availability of student places at secondary and higher education level, dictates the teaching/learning process towards examinations as opposed to assessment of attainment of skills and competences,” says the document.

The proposals say that the Government will adopt a number of strategies, including requiring the assessment to be grounded on the development of creativity and “entrepreneurial minds for self-reliance.”

Other strategies include development of Competence Assessment Tests to assess core competency areas and to align each to all specific levels within the basic and tertiary education cycle.

The implementation of the CBC that shifts Kenya’s education from 8-4-4 to 2-6-3-3-3 has been hit by hitches.

Findings by the National External Evaluator on CBC showed that the curriculum would cost Sh365 billion in the first four years of its roll-out.