BONDO, Kenya, Oct 16 – Prime Minister Raila Odinga has ruled out the scrapping of national examinations in the country, saying government policy on examinations will not be changed.
Reacting to a recent pronouncement by Education Permanent Secretary Prof James ole Kiyiapi that the government would scrap national examinations in preference of continuous assessment, the PM pointed out that such a change required a major government policy change which can only be done by policy makers and not technocrats.
“Yes, we need to reconsider the way students are assessed in this country but we must take into account continuous assessment alongside the national examinations,” he emphasised.
Odinga was speaking today at Maranda High school in Bondo where he joined students and staff for prayers for form four students ahead of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examinations (KCSE) on Tuesday.
The PM went on to say that the government was committed to training manpower that was consistent with the vision 2030, adding that graduates of Kenya’s education system must be competent enough to work anywhere in the world.
Noting that the world was a global village, Odinga said it was imperative to march the country’s training needs with market demands.
He advised students to embrace science subjects from their formative years of education, noting failure by the country to improve in technological fields could be attributed to the phobia many students have for sciences.
Odinga asked schools’ management boards, parents and teachers across the country to ensure that their schools were well equipped to meet the demands of modern education.
He committed himself to addressing the perennial water shortage at Maranda school and other amenities to further improve its performance.
The Prime Minister wished all students sitting for national examinations in the country this year good luck and advised them to be calm even as they tackle the exams.
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