Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Ezekiel Machogu has directed the committee appointed to develop the Kenya Credit Accumulation and Transfer System (KCATS) policy to speed up the process, emphasizing its importance in enhancing access and progression within the education sector.
Speaking at the 11th Nairobi Technical Training Institute graduation ceremony held at the Moi Sports Centre Auditorium, Kasarani, Machogu urged experts working on the policy to accelerate the process.
Highlighting the significance of the policy, Machogu emphasized its role in supporting the mobility of qualifications in education.
He was addressing the graduands of the institute, whom he encouraged to leverage the progression pathways available to further their academic pursuits.
The review of the KCATS policy is being led by the Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) in collaboration with various stakeholders in the education sector.
According to Machogu, the ongoing policy review is a crucial step towards achieving national, regional and continental goals related to learner mobility and lifelong learning.
Through the KCATS system, the ministry aims to facilitate the seamless movement of learners between different programmes, institutions and qualification levels, including Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, universities and professional examining bodies.
The envisioned system will enable credit transfers, exemptions, and both vertical and horizontal mobility of learners at all levels.
The 19-member team of experts, inaugurated two weeks ago in Naivasha, is spearheading the policy review.
The team comprises representatives from institutions such as KNQA, Directorate of Quality Assurance, Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TVETA), universities and other key stakeholders in the education sector.
According to Dr Alice Kande, acting Director General of KNQA, the KCATS policy will bring coherence and prevent the wastage of knowledge by establishing a national credit transfer system.
Dr Kande noted that the initial edition of the policy was launched in November 2021 and emphasized the importance of a national and global situational analysis, considering the advanced stage of implementing the Africa Continental Qualifications Framework (ACQF).
The ACQF, designed as a referencing qualifications framework for the African continent, aims to enhance transparency, comparability, and the quality of qualifications, fostering mutual trust between national qualifications frameworks and systems.
Dr Kande stressed the need for collaboration among multiple stakeholders in the qualifications landscape in Kenya to ensure relevance, portability of qualifications, labour mobility, and global competitiveness.
The policy review aligns with the recommendations of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER), specifically addressing the support for the progression and mobility of TVET graduates through credit transfer.
The KNQF Act no. 22 of 2014 mandates KNQA to develop policies and standards guiding the national qualifications system, with the goal of enhancing skills development, transferability, and lifelong learning.
By our reporter
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