The release of KCSE results is one of the most emotionally charged moments in Kenya’s education calendar. It is treated as a national spectacle—televised, tweeted, analysed, ranked, and debated. Cameras focus on jubilant candidates, analysts interrogate mean scores, and schools rush to defend or celebrate their performance. Yet amid all this noise, one critical group is consistently ignored: parents. After KCSE results, parents need counseling too—not as a luxury, not as sympathy, but as a structural necessity within our education ecosystem.
For parents, KCSE is never just an examination. It is the final chapter of a long and exhausting journey that begins in early childhood education and stretches across nearly fifteen years of schooling. It represents countless sacrifices: school fees paid under pressure, loans taken, livestock sold, businesses stretched, and family priorities postponed. It represents emotional investment—late-night revision supervision, prayer meetings, parental anxiety during mock exams, and years of hope quietly attached to a single outcome. When results are finally released, they do not arrive in isolation; they land on this heavy emotional and financial history.
This is why the KCSE results day is not simply about grades. It is about expectation meeting reality—and that collision can be brutal.
In many homes, the tension is palpable. Parents rehearse conversations long before the results are announced. Some plan celebrations; others brace for disappointment. When grades exceed expectations, joy is often mixed with a new anxiety: how to afford university education. When results fall short, parents experience shock, denial, anger, shame, or deep sadness. Yet society expects parents to immediately “be strong” for their children, even when they themselves are emotionally overwhelmed.
Without counseling, many parents respond instinctively rather than thoughtfully. Disappointment turns into blame. Shock becomes silence. Fear transforms into anger. Harsh words are spoken in moments of emotional distress, words that learners remember for a lifetime. “You have disappointed us.” “We wasted our money.” “Your cousin did better.” These statements may be uttered in pain, but they cut deeply. Counseling would help parents process their emotions before projecting them onto their children.
Another reality we must confront is that many parents tie their self-worth to their children’s KCSE results. In a society that publicly ranks schools and celebrates academic elites, grades become social currency. High performance brings pride and validation; lower grades bring embarrassment and a sense of failure. Parents fear judgment from relatives, neighbours, churches, and social media. This pressure is rarely acknowledged, yet it shapes parental reactions profoundly. Counseling helps parents separate their identity and dignity from a single examination outcome.
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KCSE results also expose parents to intense uncertainty. For decades, the dominant narrative has been clear: perform well, join university, secure a good job. That pathway is now fractured. University spaces are limited, cut-off points fluctuate, and even graduates struggle to find employment. For parents whose children do not meet traditional university thresholds, panic sets in. Many lack information about TVET institutions, alternative career paths, bridging programmes, or emerging skill-based opportunities. In the absence of guidance, parents interpret non-university outcomes as dead ends rather than detours.
This information gap is dangerous. Parents who do not understand alternatives may pressure children into unsuitable courses, discourage technical training, or force repeated resits without a clear strategy. Counseling—when combined with structured career guidance—replaces fear with knowledge. It empowers parents to support realistic, flexible, and future-oriented decisions.
The mental health dimension of KCSE results season is often discussed in relation to learners, but parents absorb pressure silently. They are expected to be calm anchors in a storm, even when they themselves are drowning in anxiety. Financial stress intensifies emotional distress. For parents who have invested everything in education, a disappointing result can feel like the collapse of a life plan. Without support, this stress can manifest as depression, family conflict, or withdrawal.
Schools and the education system must accept responsibility here. Releasing results without post-results support is like delivering a diagnosis without offering treatment. Parents should not be left to interpret grades alone, relying on rumours, social media commentary, or misinformation. Schools should organize structured post-results forums where results are contextualized, pathways explained, and emotions acknowledged. Guidance counselors, principals, teachers, and career experts should speak directly to parents—not just learners.
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Importantly, counseling is not about excusing poor performance or lowering standards. It is about responding humanely and intelligently to outcomes.
A parent who understands that a C+ does not equal failure will respond differently from one who sees it as a life sentence. A parent who understands multiple pathways will support exploration rather than enforce despair. Counseling sharpens judgment; it does not weaken it.
Religious institutions, community organizations, and the media also have a critical role to play. Too often, public discourse after KCSE results glorifies only top performers while reducing others to statistics. This narrative fuels unrealistic expectations and social pressure. Balanced storytelling—highlighting diverse paths to success—would reassure parents that education is a journey, not a single gate. Counseling messages should be embedded in sermons, community forums, radio programmes, and opinion pages.
At the heart of this issue lies a simple but powerful truth: after KCSE results, learners watch their parents closely. In moments of transition, children read emotional cues more than words. A calm, informed, supportive parent communicates safety and possibility. A panicked, angry, or withdrawn parent communicates fear and failure. Counseling equips parents to choose their response deliberately rather than react emotionally.
KCSE marks an ending, but it also marks a beginning. For learners, it is the transition from structured schooling to adulthood. For parents, it is the moment to shift roles—from managers of homework and discipline to mentors of life choices. That shift is not automatic. It requires emotional processing, mindset change, and information. Counseling provides that bridge.
If Kenya is serious about learner well-being, meaningful education reform, and sustainable outcomes, post-KCSE counseling must expand beyond candidates. Parents are not peripheral to education; they are central to it. Supporting them is not an act of charity—it is an investment in healthier families, wiser decisions, and more resilient young people.
After KCSE results, parents do not need judgment. They do not need silence. They do not need panic. They need counseling—because when parents are supported, learners stand a better chance of thriving beyond the results slip.
By Hillary Muhalya
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