This archive report was first published on 18 August 2021.
On August 18, 2021, the Ministry of Education officially released the results of the placement exercise for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) class of 2020, who are joining institutions of higher learning.
According to the data, only 271,762 candidates secured degree, diploma, and certificate courses in these institutions, leaving a staggering 465,765 students without a clear way forward on their next stage of learning.
Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. George Magoha has blamed 8,000 high school principals for the crisis, accusing them of 'killing the dreams of the students.'
However, the question remains: is it the people or the system that is at fault? If it is the people, what does the ministry intend to do to prevent the same from happening next year?
Out of 10,437 schools that presented candidates to sit the KCSE exams, only 2505 students made their course applications according to the ministry's data.
Glaring numbers warrant deeper interrogation by the ministry to find out where the missing link is.
How do we make the process simpler for the student, the teacher, and the parent?
Proper timelines should be put in place for the selection procedure, and school heads should be compelled to present the full list of candidates' course applications before the start of national examinations.
This way, thousands of students will not be disadvantaged because of someone else's mistake.
