Embrace school based examinations, teachers urged
Primary school teachers in Lugari Sub County have been advised to embrace school based examinations for better assessment of pupils’ performance rather than relying on external examinations.
Addressing primary school heads from both private and public schools, Lugari central zone education officer Mr. John Ambane regretted that most of schools had opted to buying readymade examinations for their pupils instead of preparing examinations for them at school level.
“Most of our school have just opted to be buying exams and we have always told you those exams are evaluating on what has not even been covered in classroom and I have always quoted that if universities in Kenya can strike because they have been given examination on what they have not been taught, what about our class one, class two pupils who are being bought exams that they have not been taught, it’s very dangerous to our children,” said Mr. Ambane.
“Let us embrace school based exams that are quality and have been modulated by the school examination councils so that we can be in a position to know whether they understand what we teach them or not,” he added.
Mr. Ambane also advised head teachers to ensure they took internal inspection of their schools seriously to enable them gauge the standards of their schools as well as manage the curriculum.
The official noted with disappointment that most of the heads had totally ignored and forgotten about inspection in their schools.
“It’s disappointing that when you go to some schools and ask head teacher how many lessons were to be prepared in their schools he/she has no answer, he has no records to show that Mr. Ambane was to teach mathematics in this classes and he was to have this lesson plan in this school, majority of heads do not have internal inspection files, then the question is how does this head teacher manage the curriculum? ” wondered Mr. Ambane
He at the same time urged the heads, teachers and school board of management (BoM) to ensure implementation of recommendations given by sub county education assessment teams when they visit their schools during inspections, regretting that recommendations given to some schools in 2005 have never been implemented and whenever the assessment teams visits they schools , have been writing same reports.
“We are talking of same things every year in year out, what’s wrong, does the head teacher, his teachers and the BoM read recommendations by the assessment teams, why are those recommendations remaining all the time in schools and there is no change? That’s why our schools are doing poorly, because of lack of information,” he said adding that the heads are supports to read the recommendations share them with teachers, BoM and other stakeholders for improvement.
Mr. Ambane also stressed the need for head teachers to take lead role in participating in classroom work instead of just playing a managerial role.
He said in most of schools doing well, head teachers were good classroom teacher and urged all school heads in the sub county to emulate the same.
