130,000 candidates can’t join professional courses

One out of every four candidates who sat last year’s Form Four examination did not get grades that would qualify them for any professional course.

Out of 522,870 candidates, 131,715 scored grade D and below, which means that they obtained an average of 35 per cent in every subject.

This means the candidates cannot be absorbed into professional courses as qualifications for such courses require a C grade in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination.

It also means that they cannot join the police service, which requires candidates to have at least a D-plus grade and, therefore, the best option for candidates with D-plain and below is vocational training in areas such as masonry, plumbing, electrical work and carpentry, courses that are offered in youth polytechnics.

An analysis of the results released on Thursday by Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i indicates that 165,766 candidates attained the minimum university entry qualification of C Plus and above.

Some 43,788 candidates scored B-, 53,852 scored C+, 63,977 scored C, 73,080 scored C- and 78,092 got a D Plus.

Dr Matiang’i blamed poor utilisation of learning materials and absenteeism as factors that contributed to poor results in the examinations.

The Cabinet Secretary now wants those who did not perform well to join technical and vocational institutions noting that the government has since reviewed it curriculum to meet  the market needs.

“We have a new curriculum for TVET institutions and we are working with institutions such as National Construction Authority (NCA) to train more artisans,” said Dr Matiang’i.

FORGOTEN LOT
He disclosed that 130 TVET institutions are under construction and another 89 will set up starting next year.

However, an education specialist, Andiwo Obondo, regretted that as the country celebrates the success of a few, no one is looking at those on the bottom of the ladder.

“No one is talking about the future of these candidates who did not perform well. It is time that we stopped measuring success by academic performance alone. We must provide realistic alternative pathways,” said Mr Obondo.

He went on: “We need to give these students an early opportunity to choose their career so that they are not compelled to study what they do not wish to pursue in future.”

Mr Obondo lamented that the government has put more emphasis on national schools at the expense of county and extra-county schools where a majority of the candidates scored C and below.
An analysis of the number of candidates attaining a mean grade of C+ and above indicates that 95,533 male, translating to 57.63 per cent, and 70,233 female candidates, translating to 42.37 per cent, attained an overall mean grade of C+ and above.

The candidates with an overall mean grade of A declined from 3,073 (0.63 pc) in 2014 to 2,636 (0.50 pc) in 2015.

An analysis of the candidates who attained an overall mean grade of A by gender shows that 1,976 male candidates (74.96 pc) and 660 female candidates (25.04 pc) attained this highest possible grade.