Machogu Calls for Interrogation of Education Assessment Systems
Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Ezekiel Machogu has requested that policymakers in African nations investigate the deficiencies in their respective national education assessment systems.
Mr. Machogu stated that policymakers must devise the appropriate responses to these challenges, noting that assessment is a crucial pillar for the success of an educational system.
The Cabinet Secretary made the comments in a speech that Dr. Belio Kipsang, the Principal Secretary of the State Department for Basic Education, read on his behalf on Friday at the Association for Educational Assessment in Africa’s (AEAA) 39th annual conference in a Nairobi hotel.
In attendance were the outgoing President of the AEAA, Mr. Patrick Areghan, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the West African Examinations Council, Nigeria, and the incoming President of the AEAA, Dr. David Njengere, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of KNEC.
Mr. Machogu stated that African governments must also recognize that technological development continues to present obstacles.
Mr. Machogu remarked that it is imperative to engage in open discussions about the most effective strategies to guarantee that no student is disadvantaged due to assessments.
Dr. Kipsang previously stated that policymakers in education must carefully consider how they will evaluate talent now that it has become an integral part of education.
In determining children’s inherent abilities, he stated that a fair assessment system must be designed to ensure that no child is left behind.
Dr. Kipsang also emphasized the importance of introducing children to ICT as an educational tool, stating that educational systems should leverage technology as an educational and assessment instrument for the future.
Mr. Areghan, the outgoing president of the AEAA, stated in his farewell address that assessment is fundamental to an educational system.
Mr. Machogu made an observation regarding the integral relationship between the quality of education and the quality of assessment within a country.
He emphasized that the education system forms the foundational basis for all other endeavors and pursuits undertaken by a nation.
Prof. Julius Omondi Nyabundi, Chairman of the KNEC Council, and Dr. Michael Chilala, Executive Secretary of the AEAA and Chief Executive Officer of the Examinations Council of Zambia, were present.
Next year’s AEAA conference will take place in August in Cape Town, South Africa.
Machogu Calls for Interrogation of Education Assessment Systems