Candidates who do not answer questions in national exams will not be graded

Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi. (Photo:Standard)

By Felix Olick

Kenya: Candidates who only write their names and do not attempt any questions in national examinations shall not be graded from next year, Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi has announced.

Prof Kaimenyi said the Kenya National Examinations Council should come up with the minimum acceptable mark that deserves to be graded adding that many candidates appear interested in certificates only.

The new policy, the CS noted, stems from the increase in the number of candidates who register for KCSE examination but end up only writing their names and index numbers without attempting any question.

“It appears that some of these candidates are only interested in obtaining a KCSE certificate irrespective of the grade since they know that as long as one appears for the examination, the lowest mean grade one can obtain is E,” he stated.

He insisted that it’s not possible to go through four years of secondary education and fail to learn anything that is tested in the exams.

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 Some knowledge

“Headteachers and teachers should strive to ensure that learners acquire some knowledge to be able to justify the huge investment made in education,” he said.  “Why should a candidate who score for example 5 per cent be graded?”

Speaking during the release of the 2013 KCSE results, Kaimenyi cautioned against forcing of students to repeat classes, sending students out of school due to poor performance and introduction of unauthorised levies.

He also warned against enrolment of under-age students in schools and also strongly defended the use of mother tongue in nursery and lower primary.

Citing the Basic Education Act, Kaimenyi said that children should be enrolled in Standard One at the age of 6, which means that they take the KCPE and KCSE examination at the ages of 14 and 18 respectively.

“In 2013, for example, there were 5,974 candidates aged 16 and below who registered for the KCSE examination despite the official age being 18 years,” he said.

Prof Kaimenyi said learning theories and research have shown that the use of local languages in school offers many advantages.