In every exam, it is the deep hope and desire of every candidate to achieve success.
As I sit at the Penman Centre in Nairobi to weave these words, I am thinking of a tall building with several floors. When you want to reach to the highest floor, you have two possible options; the lift or the staircase.
For students who scoop good grades, the lift becomes their gift as peak performance presents infinite spectra of opportunities.
Indeed, they secure highly-coveted chances to pursue glamour-tinged courses. Luckily, some win scholarship opportunities and travel abroad to study in Ivy League universities. Conversely, students who score average grades miss the gift of the lift. They may not be lucky like the top achievers but with the right mindset they may see and seize success, for KCSE is not the final nail on the coffin.
The journey to the top is sometimes challenging for those who miss top grades. It is not easy to ascend to the thirtieth floor of a big building using the spiraling staircase. My pen pensively remembers the sob story of one of my lecturers who narrated how she started with a certificate course, then went for a diploma, degree, masters, up to doctoral level. She became a success story owing to the fact that on her way to the top, she never lost hope.
No wonder, I implore Form 4 leavers to spare some time and read Why ‘A’ Students Work for ‘C’ Students and ‘B’ Students Work for the Government by Robert Kiyosaki. The putative author dotes his good idea on the wise words of Albert Einstein, “Everybody is born a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, then it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
My fellow scribe contends that children are not the same. ‘A’ students are academics, ‘B’ students become bureaucrats while ‘C’ students are entrepreneurs who carry the torch of capitalism to create jobs. Some of them even end up employing ‘A’ and ‘B’ students.
Therefore, we should not write off any Form 4 leaver because God has a plausible plan for all. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord: plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
All leavers should know that KCSE marks the transition from secondary to tertiary level of education. The grade garnered is not the end of the tether.
Success in life requires the connection of several dots and exams are one of the dots in the arc of life. KCSE has no final say.
As Isaiah 43:18-19 reminds us to forget about the former things, we should never dwell on a bad past for God does new things. He makes a way in the wilderness and provides water in the desert. No one should give in to guilt and regret for missing KCSE targets.
Finally, the KCSE outcome is not the end of life. Form Four leavers should pose and ask. What next after KCSE? Those who have qualified to matriculate into universities should prepare to choose courses correctly while those who missed can pursue diploma, craft and artisan courses in colleges.
© Victor Ochieng’
The writer guides students on career choices. vochieng.90@gmail.com. 0704420232
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