Because of 2016 KCSE exam results, entire youth generation is staring at bleak future

Fred Matiang'i, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Science and Technology, at Shimo la Tewa High School in Mombasa on December 29, 2016 when he announced results of the 2016 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • We don’t seem to have infrastructure or strategy to help them fit and be productive in society. Our mid-level colleges will only absorb a tiny portion of those with grade C; what about the rest? Perhaps it’s a case of everyone for himself and God for us all.

  • It is a disaster.

The 2016 KCSE results crowned the dramatic year with hope and doom. Indeed, when he released the results, Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i captured the imagination of Kenyans. Social media raptured with accolades for the man.

The sheer speed of marking and secrecy was simply mesmeric. We were ecstatic for the absence of “stupid As”. More so, we were thrilled that there was mass failure. Only about 89,000 of about 600,000 qualified for admission to university, either public or private. Dr Matiang’i had disrupted the examination system.

A watertight exam system bereft of cheating is, of course, admirable and a prerequisite for a civilised, ethical and productive society.

But perhaps that is where the niceties end. At our disposal, ladies and gentlemen, is an entire generation of hundreds of thousands of youth who are staring at a bleak future. They are tormented, confused and fretful.

We don’t seem to have infrastructure or strategy to help them fit and be productive in society. Our mid-level colleges will only absorb a tiny portion of those with grade C; what about the rest? Perhaps it’s a case of everyone for himself and God for us all.

It is a disaster.

As we swill and puff, we should remember that, as a society, we are faced by a spectre. No amount of insanity warrants celebration when such a colossal number of youth lack a clear path to a productive lifestyle.

We should be afraid that such a huge pool of youngsters is released to society neither with a skill nor hope. It is a powder keg that sooner than later will explode.

HUGE CHALLENGE

This is why. We are staring at a huge social and security challenge. Sadly, we are talking about mature youth who, if nothing happens to change their tangent in the next two or so years, will hit a point of no rehabilitation. Girls will get pregnant or get married. Boys will marry or indulge in criminal activities.

Such people are unprepared to fit in the complex global economy today. But their only 'crime' is that they live in a country where those charged with their planning seem to be barren in strategic thinking.

By now we should have noted and planned for the population explosion. We should have also noted that, progressively, big numbers were set to miss university places.

If we remembered that this country is desirous of industrialisation, then intelligent mechanisms would have been laid down to absorb the 2016 KCSE graduates. But we slept on the job and were caught with our pants down.

These youths should neither be condemned nor treated as failures. If anything, this is a treasure trove that needs to be polished to turn around the fortunes of this country.

This is where technical training comes in.

Sadly, this critical segment of education is loathed, condemned and, in some spaces, even buried.

We celebrated when technical institutions were torn down to accommodate universities — a bad experiment that should urgently be reversed. We disparaged technical skills so much that there was no focused policy towards investment in this key sector.

AGGRESSIVE EFFORT

The national and county governments should therefore embark on an aggressive large-scale and strategic effort at boosting technical education. We should have technical schools at national and county levels where the youth will be stimulated to pursue technical education.

Indeed, we can always borrow a leaf from models that have worked in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, where vocational training is king. Because of the policy and philosophy of vocational training, these countries are stars in creating employment for their youth and also producing hands-on labour for their thriving industries.

To succeed as a nation, we definitely need to rethink our strategy. Kenya is heavily a "boutique" economy largely consumerist. We are not producing even for our own basic consumptions and that is why, dear reader, your bed, dining table, office desk or even door is imported.

We are all guilty as charged for our dalliances with cheap imports. Yet those cheap items should have been produced by our youth, who should have gone to our technical schools.

No doubt, we need to disrupt our education system and strongly vouch for technical skills to roll side by side with academics. With sound investment and commitment, every youth will be catered for.

As a society, we cannot sit pretty and celebrate mass exam failures. We should be scared that this “mass failure” is a hazard.

Shame on us!

 

Eric Wamanji is a public relations and communication expert.