Schools close early as new concerns about exam preparedness emerge.
After high school principals chose to send students home a week before the official closing date, questions have arisen about whether students completed the second term curriculum.
According to the revised education calendar, the second term began on October 11 and was scheduled to end on December 23.
This means that schools will be closed on Thursday of next week after 11 weeks of instruction.
This was without the mid-term break, which was added as an afterthought as learners’ indiscipline increased, consuming nearly a week of learning.
Some schools have lost up to two weeks of learning time due to early closures, which means students may have only spent nine weeks in class.
Schools began closing as early as December 14 as students’ misbehaviour continued to plague the second term.
A number of schools closed on Friday, and many more are expected to send students home on Monday next week in preparation for the Christmas season.
The third term of the revised school calendar will begin on January 3, 2022, and end on March 4, 2022, for a total of nine weeks. According to Dr. Emanuel Manyasa, Executive Director of Usawa, education officials should create a roadmap to assist students in regaining lost time.
Kenya National Examination Council Chief Executive (KNEC) David Njengere stated that the upcoming tests should not be a cause for concern.
“We do not envisage any problems in next years’ examinations because we have done this before and there were no major issues,” said Njengere, adding Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha had aptly addressed the issue during a recent briefing.
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Prof Magoha, however, said the examinations already prepared to have a human face.
“Let our learners maintain calm and be ready to sit examinations because we are going to ensure we have a human face in the examinations,” said Magoha.
The National Parents Association’s national chairman, Nicholas Maiyo, called the pressure children have put on teachers, which has affected the school calendar, “unfortunate.”
Schools close early as new concerns about exam preparedness emerge.
