Nairobi, June 8 -- The family, society and the nation at large celebrate a child who excels in examinations. Social media and news platforms light up with congratulatory messages. Parents proudly tell relatives about the achievement. In many homes, academic performance has become the ultimate measure of success.

But as Kenya grapples with cases of school arson, student unrest, rising youth involvement in violent demonstrations, cyberbullying, substance abuse and the disturbing cases in child abductions, a difficult question emerges: Are we raising successful children or merely raising high achievers?

For years, our education conversations have revolved around grades, rankings and examination results. We invest heavily in tuition, revisi...