By ALEX W. AWITI
Dr Awiti is an Ecosystems Ecologist and works with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of the Aga Khan University, Nairobi.
The exam-centric education system we inherited from the British colonists has created a workforce more adept at imitation than innovation.
A radical change in Kenya’s education culture is needed to foster the human capital necessary for innovation-led social and economic transformation. High scores in the Kenyan Certificate of Primary Education examination determine the quality of the secondary school a student will be admitted to.
Private primary schools are notoriously famous for these super-high scores. A majority of students who ace the KCPE examinations, most of who are from well-to-do urban families, gain admission to top-flight public high schools. An inordinate proportion of students from these high-test score secondary schools eventually get admission into engineering, law and medical schools in public universities.
Ismailimail 