School Mocks and Joint Exams Banned By MoE
The country’s Ministry of Education has issued a directive that prohibits the administration of any mock or joint exams in any of the nation’s institutions.
According to a statement that was issued on July 6th, the decision was made in an effort to manage the growing number of incidences of school disturbance.
The Ministry of Education issued a statement that included a portion that said, “The purpose of this circular is to ask you to bring to the attention of all schools within your jurisdiction and take corrective measures to stop any occurrence.”
The Ministry of Education gave the schools the advice to not organise any inter-school examinations because doing so would throw off the academic schedule.
Education Ps. Belio Kipsang provided clarification that this decision was made following a meeting with the Parliamentary Committee on Education and the Special Investigation Team, which are separately chaired by David Koech and Claire Omollo.
The Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) had previously pushed for the prohibition of joint mock tests and requested the Ministry to implement further tactics to guarantee orderliness in the education sector. Additionally, KESSHA had urged the Ministry to implement additional measures to ensure orderliness in the examination process.
In the past, the Ministry of Education suggested that Continuous Assessment Tests (CATs) be used instead of mock examinations, citing worries about the commercialization of mock examinations by a number of schools as the justification for this proposal.
According to the Ministry, there has been an increase in tension as a result of school strikes, particularly in boarding schools. These strikes are being driven by the many obstacles that students confront and their demands for better conditions.
Concerns have been voiced by educators from a variety of schools regarding the potential for transfer students to instigate strikes and cause damage to educational institutions.
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The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) voiced their concern about the possibility of student strikes in 2021. These strikes were apparently sparked by the announcement made by the Ministry of Education regarding the reduction of the length of the half-term vacations.
Omboko Milemba, the head of the union, stated that it is vital for students to take breaks in the middle of the semester in order to reduce the amount of strain they are under and for parents to provide assistance to their children before their children resume their studies.
On Monday, January 30, Machogu issued an order prohibiting teachers from holding early morning and evening lessons for any of the district’s kids.
Concern was voiced by the CS on the heavy burden placed on students by their instructors, which results in students having insufficient time to relax and unwind.
Machogu has issued a warning to schools, advising them to refrain from the practise of dismissing pupils after dusk or requiring students to appear at school before sunrise.
“Now that the school year has begun again, the government will keep a close eye on the time that kids are expected to report for class. According to the CS, classes should begin precisely at 8:00 am and continue until exactly 3:45 pm.
