University of Nairobi to administer examinations online

The education sector was the first to suffer from the coronavirus pandemic when President Kenyatta ordered all learning institutions to close after the first case of the disease was confirmed in the country. Weeks later, schools that had adequate infrastructure resulted in teaching their learners online using different web conferencing facilities.

With the first term closed prematurely and now into the second term with schools still closed, administrators are uncertain about which direction to take. With disrupted academic calendars, lack of revenue, and staff to pay, administrators are devising mechanisms to ensure all systems run amidst the pandemic.

Last Friday, the University of Nairobi, Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kiama, through an address to the students and staff, said the University Senate had approved for the examinations that were due in April to be administered online.

Notably, the University has been teaching students using Google platforms and late in April, through a partnership with Telkom Kenya, the University provided students and staff with Telkom lines to facilitate the online learning and teaching.

The announcement has caused a lot of unease among the students, with a lot of uncertainty surrounding how the examination will be administered. Concerns have also been raised on the quality of such examinations and degrees that will be awarded after a question that the University is yet to answer. At the time of this publication, the University had not issued any guidelines on how the examinations will be conducted, including the quality tests that it certifies.

Should the University of Nairobi succeed in this endeavor, it will be a game-changer on examinations administration in the country and the first of its own kind.