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
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
.
.
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.
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