Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Ezekiel Machogu has recognized three teachers, among them the longest-serving KCPE examiner Waswa Thomas Omuhaka, for their contributions to improving the primary education curriculum that is being phased out.
The other two educators are Rev. Micheni and Esther Gatonye.
62-year-old Omuhaka, a language instructor at Makunga Primary School, scored 22 on the first KCPE English paper in 1985.
"I am very happy today to have been awarded the certificate and recognition as a chief examiner in this paper. I was there in 1985 marking examinations as a young man and I am very happy that I am ending it in 2023, 38 years down the line," he said.
Did you read this?
According to Omuhaka, during its 39-year history, KCPE will be remembered for its enormous advancements in language proficiency, tenses usage, and sentence construction.
He also reviewed the primary education curriculum's highlights and low points, which have existed for almost four decades.
"In the previous 8-4-4 system the initial seven subjects were the best because children learnt how to do brickwork, pottery and many other things but when the system was changed to academic that's when the problem arose," he stated.
Omuhaka said that the Competency Curriculum (CBC) is superior to the 8-4-4 educational system because it recognizes talent and creates jobs rather than emphasizing job seeking.
"Let's leave CBC the way it is. The 8-4-4 system was examination-oriented. It was for job seekers, CBC is for job creators. We are all winners in CBC," he said.
In addition to expressing her gratitude for being recognized, Gatonye praised the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) for ensuring that students with special needs receive an adequate education.
"I have been marking KCPE papers for pupils with special needs, specifically those doing sign language and I have marked English compositions and Kiswahili inshas in both print and braille. I would like to thank KNEC for considering the pupils with special needs and for finding them qualified teachers to help them get a decent education," she said.
While praising KNEC for how the state agency has conducted the exams over the years, Rev. Micheni, who has been in charge of marking Kiswahili inshas, expressed the same feelings as his colleagues.
Millions of Kenyans who underwent the 39-year-old appraisal system will be impacted by the legacy that Waswa and his colleagues leave behind as they leave the KCPE stage.
