President Uhuru Kenyatta has lashed out at parents and guardians for putting pressure on their children to pass exams Friday.
Speaking to an education stakeholders' forum at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC), the head of state linked the increase in depression cases to parental pressure that society was subjecting children to.
He contended that education was not the only way for students to succeed in their lives.
"In many instances, look at the amount of pressure that we put on our children, " That you must pass exams. You must!" The president said.
"Let us work together and arm our children with skills and nurture the talents God has given them as opposed to imposing on them what we think they should be, " he added.
He urged parents and guardians to allow their children to explore their talents instead of forcing them on paths that they are not passionate about.
The president's intervention comes in the wake of the gradual implementation of the Competence Based Curriculum (CBC) that is a departure from the exam-oriented system that Kenya has known for the longest time.
He said that the disappointment over criminality and drug abuse was understandable but maintained that the parents were at fault for this grim state of affairs