The directive by the Ministry of Education to merge schools during the forthcoming Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) continues to draw mixed reactions from various education stakeholders from across the country.
Kabondo Kasipul MP Silvance Osele and Homa Bay County Education Board chair Roselyne Onyuka openly differed at a forum on Monday over the move to have students from more than one school sit for the national examinations from one center.
Osele termed the directive as ill-advised and said that it would demoralise students from inferior schools who will have to join their superior colleagues during the examinations period.
“A student would most likely end up confused when he is told to move from the environment he has been used to for four years and asked to sit for exams in a different place altogether," he said
His sentiments were echoed by former Kasipul MP Oloo Otula who said that such a move may back fire and lead to mass failures and probably mass cancellation of results in an unfortunate event of exam irregularities.
Their views were however opposed by Onyuka and the Rachuonyo South Sub-County Director of Education, Peter Were who insisted that the ministry was well informed in its decision to merge schools into single examination centers.
Onyuka said that the system was not entirely new and had been tried and tested several years ago and it proved to be effective. She said that several years ago during the Common Entry Exams (CEE), schools were merged during national exams and the system yielded very positive results.
Were, on his part called on school heads and other education stakeholders to set aside their differences and competition and embrace the directive as issued by the ministry.