Crisis as Form Four leavers stare at bleak future

It will be a black Christmas for close to one million Form Four candidates who are facing an uncertain future after they failed to attain the cut-off point for universities and tertiary institutions.

The worst-hit are the 314,035 Form Four candidates who scored grade D and below in the 2017 KCSE examination and can, therefore, not proceed to universities or tertiary institutions to advance their studies or secure gainful employment.

They now join another 295,463 candidates who also attained D and below in 2016 Form Four examination and failed to gain admission to institutions of higher learning.

Also at stake are thousands of jobs in private and public universities as well as colleges that are now getting fewer students despite their huge investments in infrastructure.

UNIVERSITIES
The mass failure in the 2016 and 2017 KCSE examination has also raised questions on the government’s plan to achieve a 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary school starting January next year.

On Saturday, education experts warned that the massive failure of students in national examinations was a ticking time bomb.

This year, only a paltry 70,000 students, just about 10 per cent, got C plus and above to qualify for slots in universities.

In 2016, some 88,626 students joined public and private universities.

The more than 70 technical colleges were allocated 28,261 students against a capacity of 51,000 students.

This means the institutions cannot absorb these students in order to enable them acquire the necessary skills.

LOW SCORERS
Concerns have also been raised about the quality of teachers in schools and the syllabus coverage, among other issues.

Former Education Permanent Secretary James ole Kiyiapi is among those who have questioned the results, wondering what will happen to those who failed to attain the cut-off point to join universities or tertiary colleges.

“Over 600,000 students sat the KCSE exam in 2017, and those with C plus and above are about 70,000.

"This is the number qualified to join university. What happens to the over 500,000 students?

"Was the exam too hard or was the quality of teaching poor? Something does not add up,” Prof Kiyiapi said.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING
Educationist Andiwo Obondo told the Sunday Nation that the future of the candidates now lies in technical and vocational training where they can develop their skills.

However, he observed that the government must go back to the drawing board in order to find ways of helping the huge number of students who will not be joining universities.

“There is a need to strengthen our tertiary institutions so that we do not waste our young people after heavy investment in primary and secondary schools,” Mr Obondo said.

Moi University lecturer Prof Okumu Bigambo also shared the sentiments, calling for a review of the education curriculum to get to the root of the problem.

“Once we dump these young people out there with grades that cannot take them anywhere, we are creating a big problem that has implications on the security of the country,” Prof Bigambo said.

TEACHERS

He also questioned the quality of teachers in schools, saying some may be lacking the required skills and knowledge to teach effectively.

Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) Director Julius Jwan, however, defended the results, saying the high grades registered during past examinations were a result of cheating.

“We have been living a lie. We have been cheating in exams with less focus on syllabus coverage.

“Last year, a lot of exams were set from past papers so this year, a lot of teachers focused on revision books instead of covering the curriculum.

"We need to have a comprehensive relook at syllabus, schools environment and pedagogy of teaching.

"We should move away from over-reliance on exams and focus on acquiring knowledge,” Dr Jwan, whose institution is in charge of curriculum review, said.

QUALITY LEARNING
Dr Jwan also agreed that the level training of teachers is wanting and, therefore, needs to be reviewed.

A senior KCSE examiner who was involved in the marking of the 2017 KCSE examination explained that various factors affected learning in schools.

These ranged from poor training, absenteeism to poor syllabus coverage with county Directors of Education and TSC officers not being strict on inspection.

Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Secretary General Wilson Sossion also criticised the mass failure, saying the future of millions of children had been destroyed.

On Saturday, the government sought to allay fears that Form Four candidates who failed to attain university grades were staring at a doomed future, saying they should take advantage of numerous government sponsored institutions that will absorb them.

HIGHER EDUCATION

A detailed document released by Education Cabinet Secretary said there were various options students who failed could pursue to make it in life.

“For those who have attained a C plus and above, the pathway of direct entry to undergraduate degree programmes has been made available.

"Learners who have attained C and C minus can be admitted to a diploma programme and, if they so wish, can later register for an undergraduate degree programme,” Dr Matiang'i advised.

He added: “Learners who have attained D and D plus can be admitted to certificate programmes and, if they so wish, can proceed to attain a diploma and thereafter a degree level qualification.”

The document said students who have obtained D minus and E can join vocational training institutions and later progress to certificate, diploma and degree level programmes as appropriate.

POLYTECHNICS
Dr Matiang'i said the placement opportunities declared by Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service for degrees is 139,389 and 45,499 for diploma courses.

According to the government, placement of students in middle level colleges in the public sector will be about 300,000.

He said teacher training colleges will absorb 12,000 students next year while the 11 national polytechnics, including the Kenya Technical Teachers’ College, will absorb 44,000 students.

The 115 technical training institutions across the county will absorb another 53,000 students, he said.

Dr Matiang'i said that vocational training centres or youth polytechnics administered through county governments also have opportunities for 80,000 students while other line ministries have an approximate capacity of 40,000.

MARKET DEMANDS
He said there are 67 Kenya Medical Training Centres across the country with a capacity of 15,000 for a three-year programme while the Railway Training Institute’s annual intake is over 3,000 students.

Utalii College, he said, absorbs 3,000 to 5,000 students annually while the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication has 500 opportunities.

“All these pathways are designed to serve labour market demands and national development agenda.

"They are, therefore, of great importance and none should be deemed to be superior to the other,” Dr Matiang'i said.

VISION 2030
He went on: “It is also worth noting that a learner who advances from artisan level through degree and finally doctorate level possesses superior qualifications that qualify him/her as both a practitioner and an academician.

"Globally, this is the practice that has led to the development of most industrialised nations such as Germany, South Korea and China.

"This is also in line with Kenya’s Vision 2030 which seeks to produce skilled human resources required for all sectors.”