The Ministry of Education has launched a search for all the 48,000 students who scored grade ‘E’ in the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in a bid to enroll them in Vocational and Training Institutions.
Basic Education Principal Secretary Dr Belio Kipsang said all the Form Four leavers who scored low grades should transit to Tertiary and Vocational Training Institutions and train in craft courses.
In an interview in Mombasa, Dr Kipsang who met education and security stakeholders to deliberate on the 2023 KCSE performance and the unique challenges affecting the Coast region, said the state has a plan for every learner.
“As you are all aware, Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu came out very clearly that we need to understand and to be able to adequately check cases of children who scored Es, they were around 48,000 which constituted almost five percent of our children,” said the PS.
Dr Kipsang said his Ministry has elaborated to the Interior and National Administration counterparts on what needs to be done to address the challenge.
“We want to go deep into addressing that particular challenge because that is a huge waste that must be addressed and dealt with adequately so that more of our children can be able to transit to the next level of being productive to the society. Our children must get a return from the investments we are putting into the education sector,” said Dr Kipsang.
The PS said the state is spending 30 percent of its resources in the education sector to the tune of Sh650 billion adding that there must be a return into the investment.
To ensure Kenya produces less Es, the PS directed the educationstakeholders to increase and regularise school visitations and classroom observations to provide support to teachers on
curriculum delivery and assessment.
The Education Ministry will also strengthen quality assurance in collaboration with the Teachers Service Commission to boost the education sector.
“We shall have discussions and feedback, debriefing over our teachers and supporting them by both quality assurance and curriculum support officers with TSC. We shall continue to have joint engagements,” stressed the PS.
Dr Kipsang assured parents, learners and teachers that the government will address all the challenges facing schools including infrastructure such as lack of laboratories and books.
A total of 48,174 students scored a mean grade of E out of the total of 899,453 candidates who sat for the exam.
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu said the high number of candidates scoring low grades has “pained” him.
“It pains me that a large number of candidates still ended up scoring a mean grade of E even though the ministry used a more flexible system of competing for the final overall results,” said the CS while releasing the KCSE results.
Submit a report
The directorate of quality assurance will now work with field officers and teachers to probe the ‘E’ grade cases in each county and submit a report.
“But we must ensure better coordination in the trinity of schools led by the teacher, parent and the child because that is what makes a school,” said Dr Kipsang.
