Education minister Mutula Kilonzo has revealed that his ministry will be soon taking serious various talents and if possible incorporating talent performance on students’ final certificate, to demystify convention thought that performance is only celebrated on passing of tough subjects.

Mutula urged students talented in the fields of drama, sports, and other creative activities to fully utilize their God given abilities, of which he believes, will be beneficial in their future endeavor to remain relevant, rather than solely giving focus to education and ignoring co curricular activities.

“We want to make sure that those of you who have been given talent by God to be musicians, actors, sportsmen…we are going to plant a seed for recognition of talent. I believe that by the end of this year when I announce results, we are going to have categories of those fields recognized and where possible inserted in your certificates. We have made a serious mistake since independence to think that talent is limited to getting an A in mathematics or science,” Mutula said.

The minister was speaking while gracing the fourth national student leaders’ conference being held at the Nairobi High school.

He further urged the leaders to become good ambassadors who will go an extra mile in preaching peace and encouraging responsible voting in the larger community, given that the country expects to go to the polls soon.

“It is my expectation that each one of you will use these leadership skills to influence their families and the wider society in responsible citizenship particularly during elections that we shall be going through shortly as a country,” said the minister.

He further cautioned parents who have continuously ignored Article 53 of the new constitution which advocates for the right to education for every child saying that serious action will be taken against those found to flaw the law.

He also revealed that his office in cahoots with other education stakeholders is working closely on finalizing the draft law on education which has been pending since 1968 and will in less than four weeks be presented to the relevant bodies for approval.

Mutula also cautioned students against taking a confrontational approach when handling crises urging them to give persuasion and\or dialogue a chance rather than taking matters into their own hands.

The conference which started on Tuesday is meant to bring together high school students’ representatives from all over the nation to address pertinent issues affecting them and to chart a way forward, alongside exchanging significant ideas which will go a long way in benefiting each other.