Let us fix the English syllabus and exams once and for all
Form Four candidates wait to sit their KCSE English Paper 1 test at the Starehe Boys Centre in Nairobi in 2013.
What you need to know:
- In paper one, where we have the functional writing, the syllabus is archaic.
Also such complex writing like publications, will writing and field work should be tackled by students when they join the university.
Many people have always wondered why it is impossible for students to score an A or A- in English in the KCSE exams. The answer is simple: the syllabus of English/Literature in secondary education is a total mess.
What is examined and what is in the recommended books do not tally, leaving both teachers and students confused on what to teach and what to learn. Several examples suffice here.
In paper one, where we have the functional writing, the syllabus is archaic. Do we have to teach the modern generation about telegram writing or about faxes, all which have been overtaken by events due to modern technology?
Yet, these things are still in the syllabus! Even where we have some very relevant functional writing, different recommend books give different formats of writing the same.
May I ask , when writing a report do we put the date of writing the report in the title of the report like we do in minutes writing or do we write the date at the end after putting the name and the signature? Why are different books and marking schemes, giving contradictory information? Is writing a will, research paper and writing poems and publications still part of the syllabus?
Ambiguous test
What is the use of giving such an ambiguous test like cloze test where one gap can be filled with so many words yet what is considered right is only what is in the marking scheme?
How do you answer a student who challenges you to say why a certain word is wrong yet it is perfectly fitting in the given gap?
First, let us do away with cloze test and replace it with something less controversial and more relevant, like summary writing. Second in paper two, let us give the student an alternative to choose whether to tackle a question on poetry or oral literature by making the two either, or question rather than alternating them in different years.
Third, let us revise the syllabus by removing all irrelevant and outdated material like writing faxes and telegrams.
Complex writing
Also such complex writing like publications, will writing and field work should be tackled by students when they join the university.
Grammar is the core of any language. It is therefore ridiculous that it only carries 15 marks in the KCSE exam. My suggestion is that grammar should carry at least one third of the total marks in English KCSE exam.
It is unfair to ambush our students with a confused syllabus making them fail. The aaim of any exam is not to fail the student,
The writer is the head of the department of languages at St Ann School in Kiambu County
