CBTE RPL Must Recognise Learning, Not Simply Reward Experience

A pastor may arrive at a Bible college after twenty years of preaching, counselling families, planting congregations, leading teams and managing conflict. Another learner may bring accredited theological study but little supervised ministry. A third may have served faithfully through displacement, without transcripts or certificates that survived the journey. Each possesses prior experience. None should be presumed either competent or incompetent simply because of the form in which that history appears.

Recognition of Prior Learning, or RPL, exists to make learning visible wherever it was acquired. It should not reward time served, protect status or issue educational credit for a moving testimony. It should ask a more disciplined question: what biblical, theological, formational and ministerial learning can this person demonstrate now, against an explicit standard, through evidence that can withstand review?

Competency-Based Theological Education is especially suited to that question. CBTE means Competency-Based Theological Education and remains distinct from Kenya's general occupational Competency-Based Education and Training, or CBET. Bible-college CBTE is principally a contextual, mentored and competence-demonstration model for ministerial formation. Its RPL should recognise learning without confusing ministry history, ecclesial authority or public reputation with educational judgement.

KNQA's 8 September 2026 update reported an August interview about RPL, inclusion and the qualifications system. This should be read alongside the already-issued KNQF (General) Regulations 2025: regulations 20–21 address recognition of demonstrated prior learning, while the…