Offer alternatives for students who score poor grades

Kiongwani Secondary School students celebrate Onesmus Maundu Nzioka who scored A plain of 81 points in the 2024 KCSE at the school in Makueni County on January 10, 2025. [Stephen Nzioka, Standard]

Last year's Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination results reveal a sobering reality with more than 700,000 candidates (over 75 per cent) missing the minimum university entry grade of C+ (Plus).

This staggering figure points to an urgent need for the government to provide robust alternatives for the majority now facing an uncertain future. And as the nearly 250,000 candidates who made the university mark celebrate, another nearly 50,000 scored an E.
Without meaningful intervention, these young Kenyans risk being consigned to the margins of society, with limited opportunities for growth, development and contribution to the economy.