By Victor Ochieng’
vochieng.90@gmail.com
In secondary schools, students select subjects mostly in Form Two. The subjects they decide to select, have puissant impact on the varsity and college courses they will pick when they the zenith of high school – Form Four. By and large, when Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) is arriving on the cluster points for specific courses, subjects that students sat for in secondary school play a pivotal role.
• Different Group of Subjects
In order for a student to engage in serious subject-selection, it all begins with understanding how subjects are grouped. To make it plain, there are six groups. Group one comprises of the three compulsory subjects: English Kiswahili and Mathematics. Group Two brings together the Sciences: Biology, Chemistry, Physics and General Science. Group Three is made up of humanities: Christian Religious Education (CRE), Islamic Religious Education (IRE), Hindu Religious Education (HRE), Geography, History and Government. Group four welds together the technical subjects: Home Science, Agriculture, Computer Studies, Aviation Technology, Woodwork, Metalwork, Electricity, Power Mechanics, Building and Construction, Art, Drawing and Design. Then, group five enshrines: Business Studies, Kenya Sign Language, Music, Arabic, German and French.
• Factors Guiding the Selection
There are various factors students should ideally put into critical consideration as they select subjects in secondary school. The first one is academic performance. None should select a subject in order to prove a point to peers, parents or teachers. The second factor is the dream career. When one yearns to be an Engineer, then Physics as a Science should never miss in a serious selection exercise. In the same ambit, when the dream career is Medicine, then Biology as a Science is worth some passionate pursuit. The third factor is the school selection policy. A school may make one Science like Chemistry or one Humanity like CRE to be compulsory. That means; come rain, come shine – students cannot escape from including them in their selection basket. The fourth factor is the judicious advice from career counsellors and professional experts like well-informed authors, trainers and teachers. The fifth factor is KCSE, varsity plus college requirements.
Alongside these fantastic factors, while doing selection, it is important and preponderant to wield cache of information. It is good to make informed choices. In this exercise, ignorance is a disease, while knowledge is medicine. It advisable to consult widely and wildly. Choices made at this age and stage are critical. Therefore, it is wrong to be rash. For great haste, great waste. Bad choices lead to future guilt and regret.
• Subject-selection Criteria
According to the Essential Career Guide by KUCCPS and Discover Your Career Workbook done by Story Moja Publishers – students are allowed to enter at least seven subjects from the afore-mentioned groups. They should select all the three subjects in group one – compulsory subjects. They should select at least two subjects from group two – the sciences. They should select at least one subject from group three – the humanities. Then, at least one subject from the remaining groups: Group two – sciences, group three – humanities, group four – technical and group five.
• Selection Pitfalls and Pratfalls
A pitfall is a trap. Pratfall is to fall with the two round parts above the legs – bottoms. There are selection pitfalls and pratfalls that should be avoided at all cost. One, it is wrong to select a subject due to whims of peer pressure. Two, it is erroneous to listen to discouragements crawling from kith and kin. It is also important to know that it is utterly wrong to focus on the family academic history. For the subject selector in particular, is spectacular and peculiar. Three, it is misguided to select a subject like Geography because it is rife with trips, tours and excursions. Four, students commit grievous goofs when they select subjects because they are taught by teachers who look funny or friendly. It is good to consider the other side of the coin: During the subject re-allocation in the staffroom, a teacher can be given a different stream. Moreover, the teacher who is your ‘heart-throb’ can also be transferred to another work station. So, be wise, not otherwise. Lastly, do not select a subject simply because it looks easy. Nothing is easy. Nothing is difficult. Every subject requires ample effort. If you want to pick what is under the bed, you must bend.
The writer rolls out career talks and training services in schools.
