Why Kenya’s national exams are crucial
Two of the biggest hurdles in our students’ lives have four letters each – KCPE and KCSE. As in, Kenya Certificate of Primary Education, and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education.
They are national exams that all Kenyan students must take. Passing the KCPE indicates that they’ve met the learning requirements of primary school (North American Grade 8) and can be accepted into secondary school. The KCSE shows that they’ve mastered secondary school and can go on to university. Students who don’t do well on the KCSE may be offered a placement at a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college.
And these examps really, really matter because they are hugely influential in setting the future course of a young person’s life. Do well in these exams, and more doors are open to you. But as we’ll see, for some young Kenyans – particularly those CES serves – doing well on these exams doesn’t mean much at all.
A nation-wide experience
The KCPE and KCSE are each taken on different days, with the KCPE being a one-day event, and the KCSE exams cover a month and may go over many days.
Because they are so hugely consequential event in the lives of many families, some “candidates” for the exam are excused from domestic and farming chores to prepare.
Schools shut down their regular lessons to give students a chance to study. There are private sector programs intended to help students prepare, and many teachers moonlight as tutors.
Traditionally, there has been a “prayer day” at which families gather at their student’s school to pray for success in the exam. These prayer days have come in for some criticism in recent years, as they were seen as an opportunity for some families to give their offspring an unfair advantage. But they continue – many Kenyans are deeply spiritual, and they want all the divine help they can get.
Each year the lively Kenyan news media carries images of solemn, suited education officials carrying the exam papers for secure transport throughout the nation.
After the exams, students and their families are filled with anticipation and dread – until the results are announced. Based on the exam results, offers to attend the next stage of learning are issued to the top exam candidates.
Bitter disappointment for some
But for many students in Kenya, doing well in the KCPE and KCSE isn’t enough.
The unpleasant Kenyan reality is that having good marks on the KCPE or KCSE are not enough to provide a student with a brighter future. If there are not funds available for educational fees, that student may end up trying to earn a living on the family farm if they have one, or sink into a life of informal employment or “hustling.”
Having the chance to gain an education can make a big difference. I received a note on Facebook from a student in Kenya recently:
I'm so glad Carl, that you can think of such a project. If people like you were available for me, I would be in university by now. Ever since I finished the Kenya National Exam and passed well, I've never gotten an opportunity to join campus to pursue my career. Kindly consider me if all goes well.
This young person is an example of missed opportunity – due to the lack of financial resources, his future is much less bright than it could be.
That’s where CES (and you!) come in.
Your contributions help young people shine
On my visit to Kenya in 2018 to research the book “Under the Acacia Tree,” I had the honour of visiting the home of one of our students, Allan Utumbi. It’s in a rural area, a family small holding, and there’s not enough land to support all the children in Allan’s family.
I asked his parents what Allan’s future would have been without CES sponsorship, and they said he would probably have ended up drinking, or being a criminal because of poverty. I have a hard time associating the earnest, intelligent Allan I know with such a future, but that’s the difference education can bring. Here’s the story in Allan’s words, as he told me for the story about him in the book “Under the Acacia Tree”:
“(In secondary school) a volunteer from CES Kenya visited the school. Madam Hellen Kulundu (CES Kenya Director and Board Member) asked the school administration to identify performing students who might be sponsored. I was identified and she assisted in clearing all my school fees. I had no reason to perform poorly in any test and gradually I improved up to a mean score of an A plain across all the subjects.
“”My family and school community were proud of me and by the time year three approached, CES Kenya carried me the rest of the way. One of the things that helped me in my studies was receiving a solar lamp. Now I could study and do my preps after sundown as there was no electricity where I lived and we could not afford paraffin even to light a candle. All my take home assignments were completed on time.
In 2015 I registered at Kisii University for a Bachelor of Science degree program in Computer Science. Prior to that I was invited to apply for a CES scholarship; and after an interview at Sheywe Conference Centre in Kakamega, I was awarded the full scholarship through which my fees and accommodation were paid.”
Allan left something at Navakholo Secondary School – his name on the wall, highest scorer in the school on the KCSE in 2014. This record stood for several years.
Allan graduated from Kisii University and is now working at a responsible job as a computer analyst with the Kenya Commercial Bank in Nairobi.
But it’s extremely unlikely that Allan would have been able to complete secondary school, much less university, without the help of an organization such as CES.
So please, consider what a monthly donation from you might mean for a promising student like Allan Utumbi. Even given his amazing exam results, he would have been held back from a better future, just due to the family he was born into. You can make a big difference in a young