Vocational training the future for our youths

Jonathan Koskei from St Marys school, Nairobi celebrates with his teachers and relatives after the release of the 2013 KCPE exam results. He scored 442 marks out of 500 ranking him position 3 Nationally and 1 in Nairobi. He is among the lucky candidates who will secure a place in Form One. Only candidates who scored more than 200 marks are assured of space in the 6,163 secondary schools available in the country. PHOTO/ANN KAMONI  NATION

 

In Summary

• As far as selection is concerned, the top performers will transit to secondary schools and start a different cycle in their academic life. The challenge is for those who do not make it.

Last year’s Standard Eight pupils mark the New Year today with a different story of their life. They received their results yesterday and for those who excelled, it’s a sweet New Year gift and we congratulate them for their performance.

But that is not to say this is the end of the road for those who did not score high marks. The exams are a means of selection as they are a tool for testing subject mastery.

As far as selection is concerned, the top performers will transit to secondary schools and start a different cycle in their academic life. The challenge is for those who do not make it.

Quite often, the discourse has been that the education system should provide alternatives so that those who are not academically inclined can join institutions offering practical training.

In reality, our society is still captive to the notion that it is only through passing national examinations that one can succeed. Faulty as that may be, little has been done to change that perception.

Although alternatives are available in vocational training institutions, commonly known as youth polytechnics, these have suffered serious decay, leading to loss of credibility.

Nothing short of an aggressive campaign complemented by massive investment in infrastructure, image branding, training curriculum, tutors and industry linkage will convince the youngsters their best bet is vocational education.

Thus, it was heartening when Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi and the principal secretary in charge of science and technology, Prof Collete Suda, made a strong pitch for revitalisation of vocational training institutions, saying technical training was the way of the future

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CURRICULUM MASTERY

As always, the release of national examination results provides a chance to reflect on the status and emerging trends in education. This time round, there was a marked improvement on the overall grade attained by the best candidates, an indication of better curriculum mastery.

By and large, there was near gender balance, which shows that efforts to guarantee boys and girls equal access to basic education is bearing fruit. However, the statistics mask regional realities.

In more than 10 counties, the number of boys enrolled far outmatches that of girls, a trend that requires specific interventions.

Moreover, it emerged that a third of children who enroll in Standard One do not reach Standard Eight, meaning the education system continues to suffer serious wastage – a serious social problem that requires attention.

Cases of examination cheating rose significantly last year – from 732 in 2012 to 1,576. This is despite a new law that spells out stringent rules and imposes heavy penalties on exam cheats.

The implication is that fighting exam cheating does not necessarily mean invoking the law but also addressing fundamentals like societal values.

With the results out, the focus now is on the transition to secondary and other levels of education. Hopefully more opportunities will be made available to absorb the youngsters.