KCSE results lock thousands out of degree programmes

Perennially bogged by joblessness and project capital problems, the youth, who form 60 per cent of the country’s population, have for decades been elbowed to the periphery of major national economic and development initiatives due to lack of capital stemming from unemployment.

This situation has left the youth largely confined to the cottage industry, with a few lucky ones managing to break into the micro small and medium enterprises (MSES) that are not capital intensive.

Studies have shown that the trend has stagnated overall economic growth, with technocrats urging an all inclusive growth plan.

And female youths could find it even harder as gender disparity showed up in the 2009 KCSE results with no girl making it into the top 10 candidates nationally.

The results also exposed the dearth of building blocks to support the country’s quest to be an industrialised nation in the next two decades.

Performance in key technical subjects like Mathematics and Sciences slumped.

“It is obviously a worrying situation when performance in sciences and mathematics is falling,” said Education minister Sam Ongeri when releasing the results at the Kenya Institute of Education.

“Something must be done, ” he said while announcing a taskforce to be headed by Education Secretary George Godia to look into reasons for the falling grades in the subjects.

Prof Ongeri said performance could be boosted by improving science laboratories through targeted grants for construction and equipment, retraining science and mathematics teachers, recruiting more quality assurance officers, and encouraging the use of computers in schools.