As far as I am concerned, education is not supposed to be a competition. All I know is that education is not all about theory test but all about learning and acquiring knowledge.
Examinations should be used to test whether the curriculum in place to impart knowledge is doing right, or whether the learners understand what they learn in class. School ranking put so much pressure on kids as their institution struggles to remain in the spotlight.
I remember the caning I went through just to Crum things that I could not even understand which will; at the end of it all evaporate after exam.
As far as education is concerned, an individual can excel from anywhere, and the results themselves. Effective and healthy competition is when you compete with yourself and not with others.
What people fail to understand is that there are those institutions in the country, especially in remote areas, which up to now are not well equipped. The institutions may lack libraries, laboratories and other facilities, yet their performance is being compared with that of a school in Nairobi for example, that is well equipped. Such ranking will be demeaning the name of those small schools hence tempting them to engage in exam cheating.
An A, or B grades that the students are awarded after sitting for national examination is a form of ranking itself, so there would be no need for other ranking. To some extent, ranking is rated as business since many school heads hike the school fees of the institution and earn from the hike. While some heads will end up praising themselves for good work that they do not do.
To remain on the top, principals go to an extent of luring the exam supervisors and invigilators to allow their students steal exams, which in the end sees the ‘quarks’ being admitted at our universities and end up diffusing the exam dishonest syndrome, and in turn end up as unqualified ‘professionals’ unable to deliver.
I understand that Ranking is applied almost everywhere in the world. In business, companies are ranked and win awards, in sports there is ranking to determine who topped the season. Employees are ranked at end year.
But one thing we should understand is that this entire ranking is done in a competitive environment. For service delivery, good player, profit reasons and so forth. In sports, talent is involved, to employees, how much knowledge and skill you have determines your awarding not the grade you got in school.
Those pushing for school exam ranking have no idea what the kids endure just to bring their schools to pride. Many developed Nations do not rank, but produce excellent managers and CEOs; because, they are more of individual capabilities and talents than just the hypothesis in class and excelling in exam.