People measure success differently. In some societies, it is the number of wives, the number of children or cattle, the fleet of cars, acres of land or buildings, or the money in bank account.
But others think anyone without formal education is a failure. People are wont to look at former classmates who completed schooling to a certain level as successful. They rue having dropped out of school.
Well, some drop-outs have achieved a lot, emerging as rarities.
Mark Zuckerberg, when launching his social media project Facebook, got little or no attention from executives. Because of his go-getter attitude, he built a behemoth that is employing millions of people and minting billions of dollars for thousands of other companies.
He has made a difference though he is a school drop-out.
In Kenya, World Bank statistics indicate that in 2016 Basic Education dropout rate stood at 28 percent.
Poverty, unwanted pregnancies, early marriages, juvenile behaviour, and parenting make the list of woes that pushed learners to leave school prematurely.
This is happening while education is the indisputable route to success.
It is imperative, therefore, that Kenya’s educational policies guard the road that learners take into the future from possible yet unwanted influences. Hurdles to achieving dreams ought to be reduced through innovative polices.
When many drop out of school, gaps between the privileged and struggling keep widening, perpetuating an unequal society.
To be fair, some drop-outs like Zuckerberg and Bill Gates have made it in a big way in technology and enterprise.
Steve Jobs tossed away school books for other interests. He chose to ‘think different’ and ended up with a juggernaut that gave the world the iconic iPhone.
In Kenya, a combined effort of stakeholders like parents, teachers, and political leaders ought to bail the country out of bumpy schooling rut.
Parents should provide basic requirements so children don’t fall prey to fools’ gold. Leaders and citizens should work in harmony by setting goals.
The church ought to guide parents and nurture young people on sexuality, for example, especially with regard to unwanted pregnancies and early marriages.
Indeed, the government has no choice but to demand credible answers from parents and guardians whose children leave school prematurely. It’s not too much to propose punishment for parents who fail to satisfactorily explain the phenomenon.
Further, it should be an offence for a child to engage in gainful employment, which has lured learners out of school but exposed them to Untold suffering.
Above all, the government should fight poverty that ravages families.
But, young people must set the goal of completing an education cycle. More advanced educational levels will more likely make an individual more productive.
