New exam rules in Kenya can be real game changer

Education CS Fred Matiang'i. PHOTO: FILE

If nothing else, reforms in the Education sector are Jubilee’s greatest hallmark. Forget about the promise of laptops for primary school pupils, which has been termed ill-thought-out and populist, or the Sh5.8 billion insurance scheme for the nearly 300,000 teachers. Reforms in the school curriculum and the administration of exams have earned Jubilee prime political capital than ‘midwifing’ devolution. It is a smart goal; simple, measurable and achievable. The rules that were revealed last week will mark a seismic shift for the nearly 10 million young Kenyans in primary and secondary school.

The rules should ultimately reduce the premium attached to passing exams. It is about relooking at our value system and questioning the values inculcated in learners. Are we steeped in too much competition at the expense of developing other critical faculties? Is competition a means to an end? No doubt, the world gets competitive each minute and only the fittest survive the cutthroat competition.