National examinations are quite important, as they mark the crucial transition from one stage of the academic ladder to the next. However, these tests need not be a matter of life and death.
After all, examinations that take only an hour in most cases cannot be a perfect and accurate measure of the grasp of the subjects taught for even a year. Quite disturbing, therefore, is the obsession with examinations. And it cannot be more ridiculous than having some candidates sit these tests in hospital wards.
It beats logic as to why patients should not be exempted from an exam and their treatment prioritised. A hospital ward is not a conducive environment for writing exams. So, stay away from hospitals and let patients recuperate.
At university, this examination madness is unknown as candidates who fall ill can later sit supplementary or special exams. This whole idea of national examinations is illogical and should be reviewed. Indeed, the philosophy behind the new Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) is one that is more practical and discourages the cramming that is synonymous with, especially the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and to some extent, the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams.
Candidates hospitalised during national examinations will no longer be forced to write their papers in the wards if a new policy is adopted. The National Assembly’s Education Committee is keen to put an end to having exams in the wards for schoolgirls who give birth or candidates who have undergone surgical operations. It is unfair, unjust, inhumane and callous. It is, in fact, torture.
The committee recommends special, additional or supplementary exams for candidates who fall ill. examinations should not be administered devoid of a human face.
