Despite improved performance, challenges in education sector persist

Despite improved performance, challenges in education sector persist

T

he 2014 KCSE was marked by improved performance among the candidates with 3, 073 (0.63%) candidates scoring a mean grade of A Plain in 2014 compared to 2, 722 (0.61%) in 2013. Some 149,717 candidates attained C+ and above which is the minimum grade for university entry. In other words, those who will join campus this year increased from 27.5 per cent to 30.8 percent.

However, disparities persist since in terms of gender, only 41 per cent or  61,418  girls will join university compared to 59 per cent of male candidates which represent  88, 299 boys. This clearly shows boys outperformed girls in the national examination. Similarly, male candidates took up 69.4 per cent of A Plain slots leaving female candidates to contend with just 30.6 per cent.

Gender stereotyping in subject choices and careers also informed performance given girls scooped better scores than boys in languages such as English, Kiswahili, Christian Religious Education, Home Science and Arts and Design. Science subjects and Maths were dominated by boys.

There was also yawning gender dispiriting in historically marginalised counties. For example, in Garissa, only 28 per cent of candidates for KCPE were girls while the rest were boys. In Mandera the ratio of boys to girls stood at 71:29. Education CS Jacob Kaimenyi was also concerned about underage candidates who increased from 1.3 per cent to 1.9 per cent from 2013 compared to 2014.

Kaimenyi cited increased dropout rates among students as wastage of resources. While 521, 621 students were admitted in form one in 2011, only 483,630 graduated from high school. A whole 7.85 per cent went down the drain despite the government’s colossal investment in education since education takes up a lion’s share during annual budgetary allocations.

Additionally, retrogressive cultural practices such as the Female Genital Mutilation, early marriages and teenage pregnancies contributed to the school dropout.  Child labour and poverty too conspired to shatter the education dreams of the Kenyan Child.

The government should enforce the school fee guideline that was recommended by Kilemi Mwiria- led committee and compel school principals to release result slips and certificates of poor learners who are bright but held back by poverty.

To its credit, the government has increased learning opportunities by chattering new universities and converting middle level colleges to universities. But the middle and low cadre students are ignored since there is little investment in technical colleges. They are endangered since when the middle level colleges are converted to universities the government does not create other tertiary institutions for low performers who also deserve quality education just as top students.

MUSYOKA NGUI, Kitui