Following the recent announcement of the eagerly awaited 2018 KCPE results, celebrations and congratulatory messages are the latest craze showering praise to exemplary performers and applauding best performing schools.
Names of pupils who performed well from all over the country have been hitting headlines three days in a row momentarily bringing everything else to a standstill.
For a moment, Kenyans have been forced to forget how arduously they have to cope with the traffic rules that are being reinforced and bear with accolades being thrown right left and centre to pupils they hardly know.
Well, this is just for a moment before the whole fad is overtaken by yet another short-lived vogue. We can barely remember Goldalyn Kakuya who hit headlines last year after emerging top in the national exams.
Nonetheless, the big question is not on how bright the future seems to shine for the handful pupils who excelled in the exams but on the fate of tens of thousands of average performers who loathe and resent every celebratory minute that lies ahead of them.
What seems to cut the clear line here is academic performance regardless of other endowments in average performers that might strike parity with book-lovers but this is not all.
The schools that emerged the best and enjoyed free media publicity will be flocking with hopeful parents jostling to take any available vacancy for their children to be admitted there.
However, this equation is all wrong. In a rapidly-changing world that seems to offer opportunities in favour of those who are ready to create opportunities, it is imperative to strike a balance in the entire equation and embrace all pupils.
Whether they are performers or non-performers; the most important thing is to create equal opportunities for them and equip them with requisite skills to handle what lies ahead because the world we are in today is tough.
Intellect alone is not a weapon to surpass all the adversities of life; much needs to be done and equal opportunities for all is the first step towards the right direction.
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