The unveiling of a new legislative proposal that seeks to introduce technology into the marking of national examinations in Kenya has elicited debate in the tech and education circles, amid questions about the country’s readiness to adopt the model.
The Kenya National Educational Assessments Council (KNEAC) Bill 2025, which proposes a raft of other radical changes in the management and administration of national exams and assessments, is part of sector recommendations for better implementation of the competency-based curriculum (CBC), which has now shifted to curriculum-based education (CBE).
Under the proposal, the marking of some national assessments will move to digital platforms, with approved centres using conveyor belt systems where different assessors handle separate sections of a script, while artificial intelligence (AI) will be tapped to assist in scoring, especially for multiple-choice and structured questions.
“The Council shall develop guidelines and tools for marking and scoring formative and summative assessments, including oral, aural, practical, projects, practicum or any other mode of assessments,” reads the Bill.
“The Council may, from time to time, implement the following methods of marking and scoring; pen-and-paper marking, e-marking, electronic capture of marks, automated marking, optical mark recognition, AI-based marking, and any other marking or scoring method deemed appropriate.”
But while the integration of AI in education has emerged as a transformative force in various global settings, opening up new opportunities, pundits have averred that the shift is not without complexities.
As the debate about its game-changing role grows, industry analysts have raised concerns ranging from ethical use to disparities in readiness between countries.
According to digital intelligence analyst Nyandia Gachago, one of the initial hurdles that would hinder the adoption in Kenya is the language barrier, as existing AI models would need to be taught local phrases, dialects and code-switching.
“The other headache would be guaranteeing the safety of students’ data, while unequal access would work to reinforce already existing disparities. This would mean that urban private schools would likely thrive as they may prepare students for AI-friendly exam answers,” observes Ms Gachago.
The other obvious challenge, she points out, would be resistance from teachers and their unions out for fear of job losses or loss of control over grading.
“There could also be general stakeholder pushback if AI scoring is seen as ‘cold’ and lacking human empathy and context,” she adds.
Her sentiments are echoed by technology trends analyst Egline Samoei, who adds that the implementation of the ambitious plan could be held back by a shortage of critical supporting infrastructure.
“There exists limited capacity and inhibitive budgets to train the AI models and set up the necessary infrastructure. These are foundational gaps that raise questions about the country’s readiness for a fully digital and AI-driven examination system,” says Ms Samoei.
“Without addressing these disparities, the benefits of the proposed system risk being limited to equipped facilities, potentially widening educational inequalities,” she adds.
On the upside, however, Ms Gachago notes that a successful rollout would be useful in curing human bias and inconsistencies through the introduction of uniform scoring models, while also fixing vices like exam leakages and tampering, as well as addressing issues such as teacher burnout and result delays.
The Bill, which also seeks to change the name of the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) to KNEAC, was part of the recommendations of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER).
To enhance a smooth transition, the Bill proposes that KNEC continues to reign for a maximum of two months after the adoption of the amendments.
“The former Council shall continue in office for a period of not more than two months from the effective date as appointments are made to the Council and the former Council shall, for all intents and purposes, be deemed the Council appointed under this Act,” reads the Bill.
The Bill is one of the 11 that the Ministry of Education has prepared to effect recommendations of the PWPER made in June 2023. Many of them, however, are behind schedule as they were made alongside specific timelines.
