The government intends to roll out the Recognition of Prior Learning in the country within the next three months, Technical and Vocational Education and Training PS Esther Muoria has said.
Muoria said consultancy was at the final stages of completion and was expected to be delivered in one to two months’ time.
She addressed the press at the sidelines of a Kenya National Qualification Authority workshop at a Machakos hotel on Tuesday.
“In a month or two, we will be able to have the policy in place and start rolling in three months from now,” Muoria said.
The process is being coordinated by KNQA, a statutory agency under the Ministry of Education established under the Kenya National Qualifications Framework Act No. 22 of 2014.
An ongoing five-day workshop will receive inputs from target stakeholders and further build consensus on the tools of assessing prior learning in Kenya.
“Today, we were looking at the differentiated costs for Recognition of Prior Learning because we are going to be recognising all manner of skills across the board. So, we have those that are engineering-based and those that are social sciences-based, they can’t cost the same,” Muoria said.
She said, just like in actual training, some of the skills were cost effective than others.
“So, even in Recognition of Prior Learning, assessment isn’t going to be the same for various skills,” the PS said, adding that they were looking at different costs for assessment, recognition and satisfaction of different skills.
Muoria said the government was working closely with the private sector to ensure that everybody was appreciated and brought on board.
“Being able to be recognised across the globe as somebody who has the skills that are useful both locally and internationally,” Muoria said.
KNQA chief executive Dr Alice Kande said they were working on a policy framework that, among other things, stipulates the role of each player in the process.
“That means, starting at the ministry level at the apex, there is the role that they ought to play in supporting this process. Then getting to Kenya National Qualifications Authority in coordinating to ensure that the qualification institutions have the right instruments in place,” Kande said.
“What we have are documents at national level, generic, but to be used, customised by implementing agencies.”
She said they were keen in having standardised tools since it had to be a standardised process, well-articulated by each and every institution.
“Because we are privy to the kind of environment we are operating in and we don’t want this to be another means of processing certificates. This one is specifically to get those who have competencies and skills to get certificates since they deserve it and have demonstrated it," Kande said.
ILO chief technical adviser Caroline Njuki said their core mandate was underpinned on social justice and access to decent work was paramount to this.
“RPL enables people who have acquired competencies experience to be able to have different path ways. They can further their education, but it also enables them to transit to more formal means of work,” Njuki said.
“We have been working closely with the government of Kenya, specifically the TVET department, and KNQA to develop the overall framework within which RPL would operate.”
Njuki said they had supported the development of assessment tools and capacity building of assessors in qualification-awarding institutions.
Technical Committee on Differentiated Unit Cost of Assessing Prior Learning chairman Stanley Maindi said the criteria is the first one of its kind in the world to be developed using scientific data and statistical inferences.
“A global search found out that none of the oldest RPL systems in the world has developed a unit costing criteria that Kenya has. Most countries are now keen to adopt the Kenyan case,” Maindi said.
