Dear reader, one of the top tasks on my daily to-do list is to read shedloads of newspapers with real zeal. This is a positive habit I am prone to because I am a lifelong learner. New knowledge tickles my brain. No wonder, a month ago, I chanced upon a report in one of the dailies that the government was unable to account for close to 700,000 Form Four leavers who sat for the KCSE exams.
So, as I analysed the startling statistics, I cringed. I nearly cried. But tried to control myself. In 2024, there were around 900,000 Form Fours who sat for the KCSE exams. Around 246,000 candidates in that cohort scored C+ (plus) and above in the KCSE exams.
Therefore, where did the 700,000 Form Four leavers disappear to? Did they just appear and disappear into the thin air like joking clouds in Gem-Yala, where I was born and brought up? On this important matter, we can settle on several speculations. Firstly, maybe those who missed scoring the C+ (plus) of 46 points to matriculate directly into universities decided to give up on furthering their studies in tertiary institutions. More so, in middle-level colleges. Secondly, we can argue that some opted to see beyond the sea. So, they flew like birds and went to study abroad. Thirdly, perhaps, some jostled to join private institutions, which are here and there.
Interestingly, just in jest and for real risibility, in the recent past, while I was addressing some Form Four candidates at a certain school in the gelid Mount Kenya Region, I paused and posed the quality question. On where they thought 700,000 Form Four leavers disappeared to, and they told me perhaps they secured keys to wedlock. As a sage on stage, I was tempted to break into gales of loud laughter.
Moreover, I now know you are keen to read my speculations on where I think the 700,000 Form Four leavers went, from the perspective of a career educator. I thought of mentioning my opinion at this point. Somewhat, it leads to the long list of real reasons the government grappled to account for around 700,000 Form Four leavers who sat to write KCSE exams in 2024. We can attribute this to insufficient guidance and advice on course choices.
Earlier, Form Fours filled courses on the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) portal before writing the KCSE exams. This was as per the policy guidelines in a booklet titled: KUCCPS School/Centre Applications for TVET and Degree Programmes: Principals’ Application Guide. Then, in 2023, KUCCPS officials penned a circular to Principals: to abolish the centre or school application of courses.
Now, as I sit to ideate and write about it, I am acutely aware that Form Four leavers choose courses on the KUCCPS portal after the release of the KCSE exams. As a career educator, I support it because I think, by the time Form Fours graduate from high school, they are young adults. Meaning, they are ripe to choose careers.
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Advisedly, good guidance and advice on career choices is worth it. Form Fours should not walk out of high school with no knowledge of the choice of courses. National Policy Framework on Career Guidance in Kenya spells out the three career experts students can meet and mine meaningful career information from their valuable vaults. They include: Career educators, career counsellors and career information specialists. Then, once students are out of school and waiting for the release of KCSE results, religious leaders should also be keen to organise career seminars and workshops: invite career experts to guide Form Four leavers on how to make informed career choices. Parents can also scout for the aforementioned career experts to have one-on-one sessions with their sons and daughters on this important matter.
More importantly, anyone who chanced to address or advise young people must strive to infuse their lives with hope and help, for every young person has a future, irrespective of the grades they score in school. The Bible says in Jeremiah 29:11, “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.”
Actually, after the release of KCSE, Form Fours should know: Life is like ascending to the highest floor of a tall building, which is close to clouds scudding high in the sky. To get to the highest floor of the skyscraper, you have two options: Use a lift or a staircase. In case life gives you the gift of a lift, getting up there will be very easy. It will just be in a jiffy. Instead, in case life only gives you the staircase, getting up there will be a true struggle. Through it all, one has to ascend, reach and touch the top.
Therefore, students who miss direct matriculation into universities should not give up. God can repair their despair in any way. What matters most is what they choose to do with the grades they score in KCSE. It is wrong for Form Four leavers to write themselves off because they have scored a C or an E in KCSE. Yet those who eventually achieve success in life focus on piecing together many puzzles. Sages say, when life gives you lemons, you do not ask for oranges. Instead, you make lemonade. That is why I think every Form Four leaver should read Robert Kiyosaki’s chef-d’oeuvre: Why A Students Work for C Students and B Students Work for the Government.
Somehow, Form Four Leavers can access information on various courses in public and private universities, KMTCs, several teacher-training colleges, and plenty of public TVETs. The vast array of programmes ranges from degree, diploma and certificate (craft and artisan) courses.
In most cases, students secure placements based on their choice and performance in the KCSE exam. There is a ray of light and a beacon of hope for any mean grade Form Four score in KCSE. A mean grade of C+ (plus) and above enables them to pursue degree courses in universities. A mean grade of C- (minus) and above makes them eligible to pursue Diploma courses offered in colleges, except for the Diploma in Nursing offered in KMTCs, which requires a mean grade of C (plain), with a C- (minus) in Mathematics and D+ (plus) in Biology. A mean grade of D (plain) and above opens doors to craft certificate courses in colleges. Whereas a mean grade of E in KCSE makes a Form Four leaver only qualify for an artisan certificate course in colleges.
Finally, as Form Four Leavers wait for the release of results and placements at tertiary institutions (universities and colleges), they should read and research extensively about careers and courses of choice.
They should learn more about tertiary institutions and how to navigate the KUCCPS portal to apply. Too true, they should be open to multiple avenues of funding tertiary education, and oodles of scholarship opportunities in Kenya and beyond. By the same token, they should sharpen useful soft skills that will help them survive and thrive in tertiary institutions.
By Victor Ochieng’
Victor Ochieng is a career educator. He is running an online Form 4 Leavers’ Transition Programme titled “What Next After KCSE?” For guidance and advice on how to make informed career choices, call or WhatsApp: 0704420232
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