KCA University management has taken apt measures to fight exam cheating.
The program dubbed challenge-based learning(CBL) will see students exposed to real-life problems and asked to find solutions.
CBL was piloted between May and December 2022.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Academic and Students Affairs Joshua Bagaka said KCA is the first institution to implement the program.
"CBL differs and deviates very much from traditional test paper and multiple choice exams," Bagaka said.
Here, Bagaka said students will be subjected to real-world problems affecting society.
They will be required to give solutions, based on the courses they are pursuing.
"We see that as the way to go because it prepares students for the real world," he said.
"From this technique, he said students will not have to memorize any notes or even get the temptation to 'steal' exams.
This is because of the real-time solutions which will not be found anywhere in the notes or even google sites.
"Exam cheating is here and we have evidence of cartels. If we have CBL each student will be addressing these challenges differently," he said.
The DVC further called for a review of universities' education grading system.
Currently, students sit Continuous Assessment Tests in the ongoing semester which accounts for 30 percent.
The other 70 percent is accumulated by the final exam at the end of a semester, for all units.
"We should shift and give lecturers the ability to vary how they can weigh. The final exam can even account for 20 or 30 percent," he said.
DVC Research, Innovation and Outreach Vincent Onywera said the CBL will contribute positively to improving the quality of graduates.
Onywera reiterated that KCA is progressing from a teaching institution to a research-based varsity and eventually an entrepreneurial institution.
"CBL will help improve graduate employability and as KCA we are keen on producing creators of employment, not job seekers," Onywera said.
He added that through CBL, learners will acquire not only hard skills but also soft skills required for employability.
"Through this project, we are looking forward to students who can solve problems and not those who wait to be told to solve problems," he said.
K-Unity Sacco CEO Simon Njenga hailed KCA for the bold step in implementing CBL.
"It will eliminate the malpractice in school where students have been getting degrees not from their efforts but from other means," Njenga said.
