Magoha: 100pc transition achieved
All the 2021 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam candidates have found a place in 9,200 public secondary schools.
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha yesterday said the story of KCPE candidates missing slots in Form One has been consigned to the annals of history, thanks to the 100 per cent transition policy.
“In years gone by, the day for the release of the Form One selection results raised both fear and anxiety. Fear and anxiety because the Minister for Education would always make news for the wrong reason—that of announcing a huge number of candidates who perennially missed Form One places,” said the CS.
Fifth cohort
Speaking at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) while releasing the Form One selection and placement results, Magoha said the transition to secondary schools is “a story of hope and progress”.
“The beautiful story is that all our 1.2 million KCPE 2021 candidates whose results we released just two weeks ago have found places in our 9,200 public schools. So by the Grace of God, the candidates will all transition and complete their secondary school education in four years,” he said.
Magoha also used the occasion to highlight the programmes he has implemented during his tenure. Top on the list is the 100 per cent transition policy, with the 2021 KCPE candidates being the fifth cohort to be admitted to a secondary school under the arrangement.
“I urge all stakeholders to not drop the ball in implementing this policy even in the face of a few challenges that stand in the way. The challenges include insecurity in parts of the country, teen pregnancies, long distances to school and poverty, especially during the Covid-19 era,” Magoha said.
The CS said his ministry will continue working with their Interior counterparts to facilitate enrollment of every child in secondary school.
He directed Ministry officials to file accurate daily returns on the status of reporting to schools to “ensure we rely on data and evidence as we track those candidates who, for one reason or the other, will lag during the reporting period”.
The principals were also directed not to admit students to National Education Management Information System (Nemis) before they report physically.
Magoha said his Ministry will ensure that parents/guardians with learners joining Form One are not overburdened with unnecessary requirements.
“Principals should exercise caution while listing student 11 requirements as part of the measures to reduce the cost of education. Some of the items to be avoided include exercise books, Class readers/novels, photocopying papers, foolscaps, atlas, mathematical tables, hockey sticks, pangas, jembes, slashers hand brushes among others,” he said.
Another milestone, the CS said, was the Elimu scholarship programme, where the government has offered full scholarships for secondary education to 18,000 learners in the past two years.
He said the government will this year offer 9,000 more scholarships, out of which 4,000 will be from urban slums.
He directed schools to adhere to the fees guidelines showing how much parents are required to pay per category of school.
“As with last year, the Ministry will mount a nationwide monitoring exercise to ensure that Form One students join the schools they were selected to and that fee guidelines are strictly adhered to.
Parents are advised to only pay the number of fees set by the Ministry and report incidents of any students turned away for not paying higher fees and other levies to the nearest education office for action,” Magoha said.
