NAIROBI: The ban on ranking of schools and candidates in national examinations will remain in force despite the clamour by teachers to have it lifted, Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang has said.
The PS said the ban was not "a one-sided decision" as all education stakeholders were adequately consulted before the decision was made.
He said the radical proposal to discontinue ranking was contained in a stakeholders' report, which the two teachers' unions were also party to.
"The ban arose from a recommendation by the Task Force on Secondary School Fees, which the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Prof Jacob Kaimenyi, set up in February 2014," said Dr Kipsang.
Former Education Assistant Minister Kilemi Mwiria led the team that also recommended measures to reduce fees charged in public secondary schools.
The PS was responding to threats by the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) officials who have demanded that ranking be upheld.
Knut Secretary General Wilson Sossion said an alternative measure of quality in schools must be put in place before ranking is abolished.
"This totally goes against the spirit of quality education. How shall teachers and boards of management (BOMs) be put to task on matters quality? Ranking is an international practice that should not be discontinued," said Mr Sossion.
In a circular he released last month, Kipsang says ranking of schools in national examinations should be scrapped and a realistic measure of evaluating performance adopted.
"There will be regular review and recasting of school performance merit measuring tools and therefore ranking of schools and students on the basis of national examination results is discontinued with immediate effect," reads the circular dated November 24, 2014.
The document says implementation of the new directives starts on January 1, 2015.
And speaking yesterday, Kipsang said the ban will stay effective January. He said the Task Force recommended that ranking of schools should be more "holistic and not based on performance in national examinations alone".
Kenya Secondary School Heads Association, the Kenya Primary School Heads Association, the Elimu Yetu Coalition and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers have supported the ban.
Kenya Private Schools Association has however protested the PS's move.
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