Exactly what brings success?

This boy comes from a poor background in my village. He thanks the free primary education, a certain previous government initiative, otherwise he would not have known what 3+2 equals to.

Charo, 18, is a bright boy who speaks my native language. He is counting days before sitting for his KCSE examination this year, beginning October- thanks to the scholarship bursaries and support from relatives that have pushed him through in his local high school.

However, this aspiring nurse admits to undergo a little psychological unrest and this is where my interest was baited.

Charo believes in his abilities. His aim is to get a mean grade of 'A' plain if his dream of becoming a medic has to come true. This, according to him, would not disturb him if he were 'somewhere else'.

He thinks his school might betray him. According to statistics, the highest grade the institution has ever produced is B plain and that was 2007. Should history repeat itself, then he will be forced to give up on nursing and probably opt for another degree programme.

Charo blames no one for this but the situation. As he struggles in his small school, others are 'relaxed' in larger institutions such as Starehe, Mangu, Alliance, among others, where an 'A' is almost guaranteed for each candidate registered under their names. At one point in life, I also found myself in such fears.

When I was in form four in 2009, at St. Georges High School, the top ten students based on merit from the first term's examination results in each form were given a motivational present by the then principal, Mr. Vitallis Majeni. It was called 'achievers' trip'. The 40 of us were taken for an academic tour to Starehe Boys Center and School in Nairobi, in order to learn what makes its students always perform better than us.

According to me, the objective of the tour was never met. The only lesson I learnt from it was that I was inferior to them. I reaped an element of cowardice and complete eradication of my prior confidence. I kept wondering if, with just a few months remaining, I was going to be ready enough to compete with the boys I had just interacted with in a common national examination.

Starehe is among many schools in Kenya whose major aim is to manufacture more grade A's than any other school so as to be ranked the best in the country. Principals and subject teachers will do anything in their powers to achieve this. For this reason, Charo considers students in such schools as almost guaranteed the highest possible grades, unlike him, and he is not happy about it.

The result of this is an education system that drifts from the expected purpose of imparting competitive knowledge to students. They are now taught how to pass exams. At the end, they become 'bright on paper'. Holders of glittering certificates but bearers of empty brains. People who cannot relate the education they have with common logic and realities of life. They know the correct answers to Physics or Geography questions but no not understand why those answers are correct.

The real effect will be felt in future, especially if this scenario diffuses into universities and colleges. With the emergence of numerous institutions of higher learning, both private and public, negative competition may start to show up. The country may therefore be preparing for an era of professionals with less competence than expected.

Back to the high school thing, the question that one may easily ask is, "Are schools up to providing quality education to students or generating maximum grade A's in order to attain supremacy?" However, my question is different, with reference to Charo' imaginations. Should a student's success be determined by his/her effort or the institution?