- The development is also a major win for hundreds of learners who had completed their assessment and were awaiting graduation.
- The Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) with the support of the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders have played a crucial role in the development of the policy.
Image: PCS
The stage for the roll-out of the (RPL) which seeks to recognise skills from the informal sector has been set following the approval by the Cabinet meeting chaired by President William Ruto on Monday.
The approval is part of keeping with Ruto’s administration’s Bottom Up-Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA)that is geared towards economic turnaround and inclusive growth.
“The approval by Cabinet is the milestone in a process that commenced in 2020. By dint of the decision by Cabinet, there is now a functional and credible system for recognition of knowledge, skills, and competencies that have been acquired through practical work but which are not supported by corresponding academic or institutional qualifications," read the Cabinet dispatch.
Recognition of Prior Learning is the process used to identify, assess and certify an individual’s knowledge, skills and competencies against prescribed standards or learning outcomes regardless of when, where and how they were acquired.
The development is also a major win for hundreds of learners who had completed their assessment and were awaiting graduation.
The Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) with the support of the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders have played a crucial role in the development of the policy.
In welcoming the latest development, KNQA acting director general Alice Kande said the policy and guidelines will provide standards for assessing and certifying the skills and competencies acquired through experience.
"This will enable our skilled, but uncertified youths to be awarded certificates based on individual competencies expanding their opportunities in employment and advanced learning," Kande said.
Kande thanked the technical committee for its tireless commitment to the task of coming up with the policy.
He said the policy will be applied to effectively coordinate and harmonize the national curriculum development approach to produce quality skilled human resources with the right attitude and values required in the emerging trends in the industry and for the growth and prosperity of the various sectors of the economy.
Kande added that collaboration between industry and academia can create a lively and receptive framework for offering advisory on market-driven courses.
The Presidential Working Party on Education Reform (PWPER), recommended the implementation of the Recognition of Prior Learning policy and Credit Accumulation and Transfer Systems (CATS) in Kenya.
In a report presented to President William Ruto, the Raphael Munavu-led team also proposed more awareness creation on Recognition of Prior Learning and Credit Accumulation and Transfer Systems.
“We recommend the development of a framework for linkages among TVETs to remove duplications and create centres of excellence based on niche,” reads the report that is already being implemented," the report said.
The KNQF Act Section 8(1)(k) mandates the Authority to promote lifelong learning and recognise the acquisition of skills obtained through different methods; formally, non-formally and informally.
The authority recognises that not all skills are acquired in a classroom setting.
There are mechanics, technicians, plumbers, and tailors with excellent skills they have acquired in the course of their work.
These skills, although contributing immensely to our socio-economic development, are mostly undocumented, unappreciated and remain neglected.