The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has established a new resource centre to offer year-round training to teachers and education stakeholders under the competency-based education (CBE) system.

The facility, which will provide both online and physical training, aims to equip educators with key skills in assessment design and implementation, marking a shift from previous approaches where only selected examiners received such training.

Teachers from across Kenya and the East African region will now have access to these courses.

The launch of the centre comes just before the pioneer class under the new curriculum sits for the first Kenya Junior School Education Assessment.

The training will cover various topics including school-based assessments, psychometrics, data analysis, item writing, test development, and marking quality assurance.

“Its mission is to empower educators, examiners, researchers and policymakers with essential skills in assessment, psychometrics, competency-based education and research. Through these efforts, the centre aims to foster excellence and innovation in educational evaluation, ensuring alignment with modern pedagogical practices and policy frameworks,” said KNEC CEO David Njeng’ere.

The centre is expected to be officially launched today by Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok.

Teachers taking the competency-based assessment course will be trained on how to design, implement and evaluate assessments through a five-day training.

They will also learn how to develop performance-based assessments and formative evaluation tools such as rubrics, checklists and learner portfolios.

Dr Njeng’ere said the 10-day online training will offer foundational and practical skills for designing quality assessments in both competency-based and traditional models. The course will feature interactive lectures, case studies, hands-on activities and peer collaboration.

“Examiners and assessment officers and teachers involved in grading and examinations can attend,” Dr Njeng’ere added.