Parents from Yatta in Machakos County have urged the Ministry of education to reinstate rankings of the Kenya national exams results performance.
Speaking to several parents in Matuu and Kithimani, many parents who have children in school yet to seat for their exams together with the parents celebrating the just released results said the school ranking was important in stirring healthy competition between schools.
Joseph Mutua, a resident of Matuu town stated that ranking has been there from the early years, and it encouraged hard work between the schools and even within an individual student.
“The new system of not announcing best schools and best students is discouraging the competitive spirit within students and schools. I studied in the 1990’s and we all looked forward to announcement of the best schools which gave pupils and the teachers more urge to work extra hard to defeat a certain school in the next year’s national exams,” said Kaleli.
Sarah Muasya, who is a teacher in Kauthulini Primary School in Yatta and a parent, condemned the outlaw of school rankings stating that in the past it has been motivating teachers and institutions to work hard after efforts are recognized.
“Elimination of ranking system will discourage hard work in our institutions. Ranking put us teachers on our toes to finish the syllabus and revise so that we do not drop our position in the zonal level. Children are motivated to work extra hard when they are aware of their competitors position,” said Muasya.
Several parents have shown their dissatisfaction with the ban of rankings in the national examinations, saying it puts students and schools in blackout not knowing the level they are currently, if success or failure as they cannot compare with other institutions and determine the amount of effort they need to put.
Other education stakeholders who oppose the ban of ranking in schools include the Kenya National Union of teachers Secretary General Wilson Sossion, who said the move would lead to bad results in the future and creation of a non-competitive society
However, the Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. Jacob Kaimenyi on Tuesday insisted on the ranking ban system during the release of 2014 KCSE results.
He maintained that the decision had been settled after wide consultation.