KCSE examination results and the danger of sweeping statements

By Atieno Ndomo

The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination results were released last week, and subsequently a number of concerns have been brought to the fore. Unfortunately, some of these could be the product of conjecture.

There is loud lamentation over an apparent poor performance by girls in comparison to boys. Beyond prima facie evidence, it is worth exploring in depth whether this assertion is myth or reality, and the extent to which these current results represent a new trend or a continuation of a historical trajectory in regard to girls’ performance.

The main danger with generalisation is the ability to mask underlying realities, thus diverting attention and compromising the possibility of lasting solutions. Another consequential danger is that of reinforcing long-standing stereotypes, serving as a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy.

Also, by failing to acknowledge progress that has been attained, it is hard to consolidate gains and rectify weaknesses. There is no room for this sort of lazy deduction on an issue of such immense pertinence.

A mere four years from the 2015 target for attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and we are off course on most counts. According to the 2009 MDG report, attaining gender parity in primary and secondary schooling by 2005 has not been met, and is unlikely to be achieved by 2015. Yet the key thing to remember with the MDGs is their modest and base ambition — even full attainment only marks a minimal threshold.

Figures from last year’s exams place the national ratio of boys to girls in secondary schools at 55:45, with varying levels of disparities across regions. In the provinces, Central has a 51:49 girls to boys ratio and near parity is seen in Nairobi, Rift Valley, Western and Eastern. The worst scenario is in Nyanza and North Eastern with an unimaginable 70:30 ratio in favour of boys. It is therefore extremely rare to find girls from these two provinces see themselves through secondary school and sit the life altering KCSE exams. For every ten students, seven are boys and only three are girls. A major factor is the deplorable lack of menstrual sanitary protection, which compromises girls’ school attendance and performance.

The other issue that has grabbed the headlines is Prof Sam Ongeri’s prescribed punishment for exam cheats. Beyond results’ cancellation, culprits will be barred from re-sits for two consecutive years. It has to be said there is a bitter irony in the Education minister’s resolute action in handing out such harsh and swift sanctions against alleged student exam cheats — when only recently he has been in the eye of the mega corruption storm at his ministry, but has unequivocally disparaged calls for accountability as the chief authority. The affected students are doubtless aware of the double standards at play. The likelihood they are mere ‘pawns’ in a game beyond them compounds the issue.

Tragically, it may be completely lost on public figures that by virtue of their positions, they are inadvertent objects of attention who model the behaviour of impressionable youth. Hence, the "do as I say and not as I do" mentality will not wash.

The overall student rankings cannot be a firm or accurate measure of overall performance, beyond merely providing a general sense. For instance, the fact that a student from Wei Wei in Pokot managed to secure sixth overall position is not indicative of the actual performance of schools and students in Pokot.

Likewise, the seeming impressive scores by girls in Coast Province mask widely acknowledged fundamental barriers to girls’ access to education that include early marriages, customs, poverty and attitude defined gender based discrimination.

The case of Alliance Boys where out of 218 candidates, 104 scored straight As begs the question of just how many schools can boast such a fete?

Indeed beneath the generalities, there are unnervingly real inequalities that determine the life chances of countless students and their families and communities. Until we lock in targeted public policy and governance initiatives to dismantle inequalities, we will remain far removed from the nirvana of education as an ‘equaliser’.

—The writer (bndomo@hotmail.com) is a Social and Economic Policy Analyst