After Education Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i released the 2017 KCPE results on Tuesday, pupils who scored good results, together with their parents and teachers were in jubilation throughout the country.
Some street lanes, schools, and homes were packed with a celebratory mood, ululations and all sorts of joyous expressions celebrating the fruits of hard work.
Even up to now as you make your way through towns and villages, stories about pupils who did well in this year’s KCPE exams are still dominant. Nobody is talking about those pupils who scored below the average mark, which stands at 250. Mostly, these children are depressed after results and most of this bulk rests with the parents, although some parents are also depressed when their children score low marks.
Such depression may lead to suicidal thoughts as it has been in the past years. A clear example was a 17-year-old boy in Trans Nzoia County who committed suicide after being demoralized due to his low marks in the 2012 KCPE.
One thing parents should learn and stick to is to avoid putting much pressure on their children who are gearing for national exams. This can easily result in devastation if the child never gets what the parent expects.
There are parents who turn the blame game on their children after performing poorly in the exams, yet reality proves they never assisted their kids in school for the eight years they toiled in Primary school.
There are things teachers recommend that pupils should buy and carry to school, mostly academic paraphernalia like textbooks, but when children ask their parents for financial provision, the supposed parents become indignant and point fingers to the national government, purporting free education is being offered and nothing should be purchased by them.
Some parents blame the teachers and even accuse them of laziness. There have been cases where parents have forcefully tried to eject headteachers because of their respective schools’ poor performance, but before doing that the parent should ask himself or herself, “In what way did I help the teachers and pupils?”
Parents should learn to appreciate what their children get in their national exams. Therefore, as the parents of best-performing pupils celebrate, parents who think their children performed dismally shouldn’t despair but they should encourage them instead.
These should signify the end of the road for those children but it should be a turning point. Talk to them, encourage them and discuss what they can do that can help them have a bright future.
Parents give proper assistance to your children while in school and celebrate their fruits in future and avoid transferring your negligence to them or their teachers. Be responsible.