School calendar not responsible for cheating in exams Sossion

School calendar not responsible for cheating in exams  Sossion

The school calendar is not responsible for cheating in schools, this is according to Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General Wilson Sossion.

Sossion says that cheating in exams is as a result of reluctance on the part of the examinations council.

“Continue with reforms at the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC). Focus on the specifics. Interfering with other aspects that are not relevant shall not be acceptable to us,” stated Sossion.

The KNUT Secretary General was speaking during an interview on Citizen TV’s Power Breakfast show where he touched on the current education reforms championed by Education Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i.

“The Education sector is undergoing reforms and we understand and support many of the reforms and we are the key proponent of constructive reforms. We have, however, raised strong reservations and concerns about the Kenya National Examination Council reforms,” said Sossion.

“Our key concern is the school calendar that was released in January. You cannot change it too late in the day without extensive consultations; it is a calendar we negotiated. The changes have an effect on students, parents and teachers,” he added.

Sossion noted that from the teachers’ point of view, school holidays should not be less than three weeks.

“It is government a policy, adults, including teachers, undergo continuous education. We have majority of the teachers who have spent resources to enrol in universities for programs, those programs last three weeks. This means teachers will not undertake these studies in August, they will lose their money, the calendar has to be well thought out.”

The Secretary General expressed concern that the term was being extended too long.

“From where I sit, it is not acceptable to teachers. This was not well consulted. Leaving students out of school for two months has a dangerous effect on the school curriculum. There are a lot of social effects to the learners. We are talking about adolescents here. Some girls might even get pregnant for staying away from school for too long,” said Sossion.

Addressing the banning of third term prayers, Sossion said mid-term breaks by the Education Ministry were a recommendation of a task force to stem student’s unrest. He expressed concern that withdrawing the same is contravening the same recommendations that might see waves of unrest resurge.

“There is no evidence that shows that parents help with exams teaching. These activities of third term are very historical. Why do we have prayers? It is that the students feel support from their loved ones. This is more of psychology. You cannot throw away psychology in education. These activities have no correlation with cheating. We shouldn’t work by assumptions. What of day scholars? There are students who are day scholars. So if contraband material is to get to school, it still will. You cannot ban a whole program based on what happens in few schools.”

“The reforms by Matiang’ishould be handled with a delicate balance and he should listen to the voices on this matter,” he added.

Last week, the Ministry of Education abolished mid-term breaks, prayers and visiting days during the third school term in a bid to contain cheating during the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations.

The Education CS also announced changes in the school calendar that will now see the Second Term extended to 12th August and Third Term begin on 29th August and end on 29th October.

“There will be no teachers after 6th of August. Teachers are leaving for studies. Let the Minister know that,” stated Sossion.

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kenya education KCSE KNUT kcpe Wilson Sossion sossion KNUT Secretary General Wilson Sossion Education CS Fred Matiang'i Cheating in schools

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