The Broken Promise of Education: Why Grades No Longer Guarantee a Future

For generations, Kenyan parents passed down a simple formula for success: go to school, get good grades, earn a degree, secure a job. It was not just advice—it was a social contract. Education was the great equaliser, the ladder out of poverty, the surest insurance policy a family could buy.

That promise is now visibly fraying.

In a sharply argued piece, columnist Muga contends that the “fruits of education” no longer taste the way they once did. His argument is uncomfortable but hard to dismiss: Kenya has educated an entire generation for a world that no longer exists.

Degrees Without Destiny

Every year, tens of thousands of graduates pour into the job market armed with certificates—and little else. They are qualified, credentialed, and increasingly unemployable. The phenomenon of tarmacking has become a rite of passage, not a temporary setback. Degrees that once guaranteed entry into the middle class now struggle to secure even an interview.

This is not because education has no value. It is because credentialism has replaced competence.

The modern economy—shaped by technology, automation, and freelance work—rewards what you can do, not what you can recite. Yet Kenya’s education system remains stubbornly exam-centric, optimised for ranking students rather than preparing them for reality. We produce excellent test-takers and poor problem-solvers.

The Gig Economy Doesn’t Care About Your Mean Grade

In the gig economy, no client asks for your KCSE certificate. They ask for your portfolio. Your output. Your reliability.

A graphic designer with no degree but strong skills earns more than an honours graduate waiting for a posting letter. A self-taught software developer competes globally while a computer science graduate waits for an internship. This is not an anomaly—it is the new normal.

Muga’s argument cuts deeper: parents are still raising children for a past economy. We celebrate straight As while ignoring creativity, emotional intelligence, adaptability, and practical skill. We punish curiosity if it doesn’t translate into marks.

From Credentialism to Capability

The crisis, therefore, is not education itself—it is relevance.

Kenya does not need fewer educated people. It needs differently educated people. An education system that:

• Prioritises skills alongside theory

• Encourages experimentation, failure, and iteration

• Treats vocational and technical paths with dignity, not shame

• Prepares students for self-employment, not just employment

Most importantly, it requires a cultural shift. Parents must stop asking, “What grade did you get?” and start asking, “What can you build, fix, write, sell, or solve?”

A Hard Truth, But a Necessary One

The promise of education is not dead—but it has changed. The sooner we accept this, the better prepared our children will be.

Education must once again be a tool for empowerment, not a conveyor belt to disappointment. If we cling to grades as destiny, we will continue producing graduates who did everything right—and still lost.

The system did not lie to them.

It simply failed to evolve.