Monday, October 24, 2016

President Peter Mutharika's Education Legacy

More than anything else, President Peter Mutharika, who is live and ticking, will be remembered for announcing in the 2014/2015 academic year that Junior Certificate of Education (JCE ) examinations had been abolished.
But, like all abrupt decisions, the decision did not take effect there and then. Instead, candidates will just be having continuous assessment from the 2016/17 academic year.
Why? JCE was costly, in terms of examinations' processing. The certificate, meaning the paper, cost a leg.
Of course, arguing that the processing of learning is more valuable than the certification makes sense.
Again, JCE certification lost ground a long time ago, so that employers no longer fancy JCE holders as academically sound.
That said, nothing beats the image of a shining certificate, JCE or not.
Again, JCE helped students study their Form One and Form 2 work before proceeding to senior level. In other words, it helped them get accustomed to examinations' fever.
Additionally,  JCE served as a sieving mechanisms, screening those who might, otherwise, have not been ready for Malawi School Certificate of Education examinations.
The abolition of the same has, therefore, brought unnecessary panic, and reduced the expectation that Malawians had on their education system.

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