Education authorities in Mombasa County are raising red flags over the region’s troubling academic performance, urging immediate intervention and a strategic shift toward Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to stem the growing crisis among school leavers.
Following the release of the 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results, the Commission for University Education has expressed concern over Mombasa’s starkly low university admission numbers.
Out of nearly 10,000 candidates, only 12 percent met the threshold for university entry, well below the national average of 25 percent.
Speaking in Mombasa, Dr. Agnes Wahome, Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS), called the numbers “deeply unsettling” warning that the performance gap could expose thousands of youths to unemployment, substance abuse, and social instability if left unaddressed.
“This is a wake-up call,” she said. “Mombasa’s youth deserve better. If we don’t create alternative training paths, we lose them.”
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Dr. Wahome encouraged KCSE graduates to embrace TVET programmes, describing them as practical, inclusive, and tailored for industry relevance. She highlighted the Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET) curriculum now operational in TVET institutions, which allows for progressive certification and flexible study, giving learners the power to work while training or rejoin the job market at any stage.
The course placement and revision window has been reopened, giving students another opportunity to choose training pathways.
Dr. Wahome clarified that university admission letters often cause confusion, as parents mistakenly interpret institutional cost breakdowns as out-of-pocket obligations. She assured families that government funding via HELB and the University Fund had helped reduce tuition fees by up to 40 percent in some degree courses.
Changamwe MP Omar Mwinyi, echoed calls for intensified investment in TVET as a bridge between education and employment.
He commended the government’s ongoing rollout of TVET centres across all 290 constituencies, noting that the goal of enrolling two million youth by the end of 2025 is both ambitious and necessary.
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“Technical education is not a fallback, it’s a front-row seat to the future,” Mwinyi said. He particularly urged Mombasa’s youth to pursue opportunities in the maritime sector and the Blue Economy, identifying them as high-potential growth areas uniquely suited to the region.
Mwinyi further challenged regional education officials to probe the persistent underperformance in Mombasa, calling for collaborative efforts from county directors and national stakeholders to reverse the trend.
“The learners are capable but we must realign our systems to support and inspire them,” he said.
By Masaki Enock
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