The recently released senior six results indicate that out of the 42,118 students who sat the national exam last year, 37,558 (89 per cent) passed. These qualified for the Rwanda Advanced Certificate of Education, a green light to proceed to tertiary institutions.

But for the 11 percent who failed to meet the pass mark, the way forward remains unclear, with most feeling that their academic journey has come to an abrupt end. However, counselors say that disappointing as it is, this is a temporary setback that should not be seen as the end of the world.

Janvier Ismael Gasana, the Director General of Rwanda Education Board, (REB) advises that those who don’t perform well should consider repeating to improve on weak areas.

"Personally, I don’t think failing means you are witless, it means there are weak areas that should be improved. Repeating a class can help you double efforts in challenging areas,’’ says Gasana.

For those candidates who are not comfortable repeating a class, gradual upgrades by taking on short courses can be another alternative.

"Definitely, some students will not accept going back to a lower level and that should not be a problem. They can take on short courses, upgrade slowly until they meet the university requirements. Some of these short courses could even be vocational,” he adds.

Paul Swagga, a tutor at Akilah Institute of Women in Kibagabaga agrees with Gasana on vocational education as another option that candidates could explore.

"Vocational education requires a more hands-on approach. Thus, although someone may struggle with theoretical studies, they may end up beating everyone in fields such as carpentry. I don’t think there is failing in this area,” says Swagga.

However, students and parents should be conscious of repeat more than once may indicate a deeper problem and may call for a complete change in subject combinations.

Kigali-based counsellor Joyce Kirabo explains that failing more than once in exams might necessitate change of the subject combinations or study disciplines to avoid wasting time and money.

"You cannot think about repeating all the time. Remember, if you are in a private school, you are paying money.

Repeating once is okay but beyond this, there is need to consider changing the combination or the entire field of study,” says Kirabo.

While failure to make the required grades for university may cause candidates to develop a paralyzing fear for exams, Fred Mugisha, Director of Policy Research and Planning at the Higher Education Council (HEC) says that all academicians are aware of how challenging exams are for students.

"The challenges are the same all over the world. Passing exams is not easy, we have all been there and failing to get cut off points for university is not unusual,” says Mugisha.

He adds that despite failure to meet the university entry points, completing Advanced level itself is an achievement and a sign of hard work.

"You may not meet the entry points, but getting a certificate of completion is recognition that you invested a lot of time and are capable of undertaking similar challenges,” he adds.

The hardships of obtaining the desirable pass mark are not only applicable to Rwanda. In the western world, joining a desirable institution goes beyond achieving just the pass mark because certain institutions want maximum points.

Some will admit a candidate if he or she has an A or B in certain disciplines while others may require triple A’s across all disciplines. For example, the University College London demands A’s& B’s in certain disciplines unlike Oxford and Cambridge, which require top marks in all subjects for admission in all undergraduate degrees.

Taking the business route

However, Prof. Eugene Ndabaga, a specialist in Education Management, Policy and Planning at the University of Rwanda holds a different view on repeating arguing that there is more one can do beyond repeating and vocational education.

"Not every person who achieves success has to go through the university. If repeating and vocational education fail to work out, then start a business. Many have succeeded in entrepreneurship without any single academic background. It is all about persistence and setting goals,” explains Professor Ndabaga.

He further points out that while education alone is no guarantee for success, a certain minimum will make it easier to succeed even when one opts to go into business.

"This is the reason why government provides free education up to senior six for everyone at least to attain minimum standards. Beyond this level success is more about creativity,” he adds.

When negative pressure arises

The urge to obtain perfect results is associated with negative outcomes such as suicide. Statistics show that every year approximately 200,000 teenagers worldwide commit suicide while about 4 million adolescents attempt it as a result of examination pressures.

Similarly, a survey done in UK on 6020 students in 2002 showed that 70 per cent of self-harming teenagers with suicidal thoughts admitted that the cause was their concerns about the school performance and exams.

Concerning such negative thoughts, Kirabo advises that students who fail exams should be monitored closely and assisted to cope up with the situation.

"Frustrations are common and students need serious counseling from career guidance experts who understand the situation,” she explains.

Other experts believe that in finding solutions to fix failures, parents have a huge role to play if students are to at least obtain the pass mark.

Parents’ views

However, most of the parents who spoke to the Education Times expressed mixed reactions in the event of failure although repeating and switching schools remain top of their consideration.

For instance, Pius Ndengeyimana, a parent in Kabeza explains that teachers are responsible for most failures and says in case a child failed to pass A-level, he would immediately switch to a better school.

"Sometimes teachers can be a problem to the students. Why would a child fail if he understands everything you are teaching?” he asks, adding that he would immediately proceed to look for an alternative school basing on those which performed well.

Betilde Gihozo, a parent in Gikondo, says a child should not repeat in the same school to protect him from bullying.

"When he remains in the same school, chances are high that he will be mocked by other students. I believe it would be perfect to start over by joining a completely different school,’’ explains Gihozo

Unlike Ndengeyimana and Gihozo, Valence Rukundo considers switching schools inappropriate because it destabilizes the child.

"Well, I think if he or she is handled by the same teachers, they will know his exact areas of weakness where more effort needs to be put in order to foster improvement compared to switching schools,” says RukundoWhereas students normally carry all the blame for academic failure, experts insist that passing examinations requires a holistic approach that should be established right from the foundation stages of an academic career.

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Steps to deal with exam failure

1. Don’t panic – there are many ways you can have another go. There may be re-sits or alternative exams to take. This is NOT the one and only chance and you are NOT the one and only personwho did not pass.

2. Don’t be dramatic – with the emotional tension around exams and expectations, there is no doubt this is a hugely emotionally charged situation. Allow yourself some emotional ‘grieving’ but don’t torture yourself.

3. Learn from it – so with that hindsight allowing you a fresher, more realistic perspective, can you see positive paths open to you? If you are struggling to see this by yourself then are there people you can get in touch with to help? Support from others is really important; seek it out.

4. Try not to linger – try not to over-focus on the exam result itself. This may sound contrary, but you must have learned about a topic in some way even if the exam questions on the day didn’t go your way. You may, at the very least, know that a certain subject is NOT for you!

5. Project – a nice tool to help you get out of any lingering feelings of failure is to think where you might be in 2 years time – so you didn’t pass an exam? What difference will that make to you in 2 years? It doesn’t mean that all hope is gone, or that you won’t be happy and successful in the future.

6. Think of inspirational others – not everyone (or anyone) gets success without challenge, struggle, hardship, uncertainty. Whilst other successful people may seem as if they have not a care in the world, chances are they have had a lot of set-backs as they strive for that success. You are not unique; you are not the only person trying to learn in life. The biggest lessons are often those about you.

7. Bounce back – turn all of that disappointment and angst into motivation for your future. You don’t want to feel this low again, so don’t let these feelings of despair happen again. This does not mean trying to learn a subject which is a miserable struggle and sitting exams again and again, but it does mean being creative with solutions, thinking broadly and freshly about your future.

8. Have a bit of fun – healthy fun at that! Do not be tempted to drown your sorrows or start in any extreme behavior or use poor coping strategies leaving you with more problems in the long run.Take a break from wallowing, thinking and planning and take comfort in being in a position to have choices and options. It could be worse……always!

9. Enjoy simple pleasures – a nice way to relax and de-stress can often be indulging in simple pleasures. It’s a great way to re-set your mental freshness and realize there is a lot to appreciate in life. A simple pleasure might just be taking your dog for a walk, getting up early one morning and watching the sunrise, lying on a beach listening to the waves. Best of all, these simple pleasures are free, and all around.

Don’t forget, famous, successful people who have not always found exams and academic life easy include movie star Harrison Ford, British Wartime Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, classic scientist and writer Charles Darwin, and even Albert Einstein. That is not a ‘bad crowd’ to be in now, is it?

Agencies

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What would you do after failing exams?

Alphonse Ukurikiyeyezu, dean of students at Umubana School Kicukiro

If one fails to attain the minimum marks for university entry, they will obviously have to wait for another year to re-sit. Before this happens, any person in charge of discipline in school takes on the responsibility to provide guidance and counseling because most students already feel very discouraged.

Centrine Irahoza, a university student

The next decision depends on the combination, which the student chose. Taking an example, I passed all other papers very well apart from the areas where I failed to attain the minimum grade required for the science combination I was taking. I did not give up; I waited for another year to redo the papers before joining university.

Wilson Niyobikora, a teacher at GS Sihinga

Whether to repeat or not depends on the marks one has. For instance, if a student has the lowest marks, they will have no option but to sit exams again. However, without a direct pass to the public institution, there are alternatives to private institutions but all depends on the grades.

Fulgence Mbonigaba, a student at GS Rugando

As a must students who don’t get grades for the university are forced to wait for another whole year before re-sitting. I find this tiresome and time consuming, I just wish there was another way to work around this.

Constaine Irakunda, a parent

Failing exams is a big blow to the parents because you have to look for fees again. Meanwhile, there is a lot of anxiety while waiting for the next time when the child will be sitting. This of course means you have to closely get involved

Compiled By Lydia Atieno.