Education stakeholders hail ban on school ranking

Education stakeholders have hailed Government’s ban on ranking of schools and students in national examinations even as a teacher’s union wants it upheld.

Parents and teachers yesterday said the directive is long overdue and noted it marks the start of an end to examination irregularities. Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (Kessha) National Chairman, John Awiti, said the underhand deals schools cut to emerge top have been rendered irrelevant.

Mr Awiti said ranking was only based on academic performance with other extra curricular aspects ignored.

Uwezo Kenya regional manager Sara Ruto said the ranking system was based on wrong premise that does not add quality. “Grades are not the proper indicator of quality because no one knows how they were arrived at. Therefore, the ranking glorified a few students and chided the rest,” she said.

She challenged the ministry to seek alternative ways of recognising best performing candidates. Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) secretary general Wilson Sossion, however, said ranking was the only tool left to assess quality of education offered in schools. He said the move could mark the start of poor quality education in schools. “There shall be no monitoring of school managements, quality assessment and identification of gaps,” he said.

Mr Sossion said the Government must work to eliminate the vices that come with ranking. Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) Secretary General Akelo Misori said the ranking has been skewed and urged the ministry to implement the ban. “The basis has never been objective because entry requirements in schools are not similar.

“For ranking to be effective they must ensure infrastructure in schools is same, the staffing norms be raised to bare minimums and entry grades be similar so that they start on same footing,” said Misori.