Congratulations to all the 881, 416 students who successfully completed secondary school in 2022 and received their KCSE results yesterday.
Still, many students may not have scored the grades needed to get into the courses they wanted.
Many years ago before Kenya expanded the number of tertiary institutions, this would mark the end of the road for most students.
The situation is now completely different. The country has about 64 universities (both public and private) and more than 2,300 Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) institutions.
There are also numerous polytechnics offering technical courses such as construction, plumbing and dressmaking.
Not to forget the Kenya Medical Training College, which has campuses in 46 counties.
This means we have space for all the candidates regardless of the grades they got. Most of them can also receive funding from the Higher Education Loans Board and bursaries from the government.
Of note is that 489,081 students scored a mean grade of D+ and below.
Obviously, they do not qualify for direct university entry and many of them may not qualify for the diploma courses they want.
But this is only a small hurdle. In Kenya, you can work your way from artisanal level to PhD level. We have many professors teaching in universities who began with certificate courses.
Those interested in technical work can join any of the numerous TVETs or vocational training centres.
Thankfully, artisanal work in Kenya is rewarding and more flexible in terms of schedule.
Bottomline is, academic grades should not prevent you from becoming who you want to be in life.
Quote of the Day: "You keep your eyes on the prize, you try to do what's right, and eventually, you'll reach your goal."
Eric Holder
The American lawyer and judge (first African American US Attorney General 2009-2015) was born on January 21, 1951
