Parents of pupils who scored low KCPE grades may not need to demand answers from the teachers.
Studies show stunting, caused by poor diet in infants, is rampant in many parts of the country and leads to poor intellectual development.
This means no matter how hard their teachers tried, stunted pupils could not reach their full potential in class.
The bottom counties in this year's examination were Marsabit, Kitui, Isiolo, Kilifi, Kwale, Taita, Taveta, Wajir, Lamu, Tana River, Garissa, and Mandera.
These counties have some of the worst nutritional indicators in Kenya due to rampant poverty and droughts.
Dr Thomas Ngwiri, the head clinician at Gertrude's Children's Hospital and the chairman of the Kenya Paediatric Association, says a quarter of all Kenyan children under five years are stunted and this often leads to poor performance in class.
“The children may look proportional but are stunted. We think they are just short but they can actually not catch up. Apart from physical development also they suffer intellectual under development. If we look at areas where there is poor school performance, there is poor nutrition and also this problem of stunting,” he says.
According to the Ministry of Health, 2.8 million children in Kenya under the age of five are stunted.
Dr Ngwiri says malnutrition and stunting are often not the result of lack of food, but rather lack of the right foods.
And many children from middle class backgrounds in cities also suffer poor nutrition.
“Unfortunately having enough to eat doesn't always translate to right nutrition,” he says.
For instance, he says, rickets have become a major problem in Nairobi's rich estates.
This is a childhood bone disorder in which bones soften and become prone to fractures and deformity.
The main cause of rickets is a lack of vitamin D, which is needed for proper absorption of calcium and phosphorous from the gut.
Vitamin D can be acquired from the
sun
but many children who live in Nairobi's high rise buildings have no access to sunlight.
This is because parents restrict children's movement because they don't trust the hygiene outside.
“It can cause knocking knees and even worse complications. For instance, half of all children with acute pneumonia the reason is rickets. There are many complications, delay in development – children cannot walk as quickly as the others, by one year children should be standing and walking. So you find a two year who cannot walk. They also suffer other developmental delays like speech. They also have poor dental development. If your bones don't developed even the ones that form your teeth don't form,” Dr Ngwiri explains.
He says most of these nutritional deficiencies can be supplemented.
Consumer health company Merck – makes of Seven Seas brand - is currently leading a campaign to improve nutrition through supplementation.
The company produces the well-known Cod Liver Oil, one of the richest sources of effective Omega 3 fatty acids, which are essential to good health and brain function.
“As a health company, we believe we can play a role in reducing malnutrition by raising awareness about this issue, encouraging people in Kenya to proactively consider their health,” says Thomas Onyango, General Manager Merck Consumer Healthcare, Central Africa.
Seven Seas leads the awareness campaign called “Together for a #StrongerGeneration”, which seeks to break the downward cycle of malnourished, weaker generations.
Dr Ngwiri notes that most of the nutritents for brain development can be found in fish, but many Kenyans cannot afford it.
“Supplementation is better because it's cheaper than fish,” he says.