Over 130,000 students yet to report for Form 1

The Government has said some 131,854 or nine per cent of learners expected to transition to Form One this year are yet to report to secondary schools.

Data from the Ministry of Education shows that 1,268,185 out of 1.4 million who sat the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) or 91 per cent have so far reported to various categories of schools as at January 26.

Another 5,723 opted to join vocational institutions while 169 are reportedly deceased.

“Out of the 701,066 boys selected to join secondary schools, 642,396 have been admitted while 693,378 girls were selected to secondary but 625,789 have been admitted,” data from the Ministry has shown.
More boys than girls have joined vocational institutions, the numbers currently standing at 3,128 and 2,595 respectively.

Kajiado has the lowest number of admissions at 64 per cent followed by Narok at 72 per cent then Isiolo at 77 per cent while Kilifi has 79 per cent admissions to secondary school.

On the other hand, Kakamega, Laikipia and Mombasa has recorded the highest number of students who have reported to secondary at 99 per cent.

In Kakamega for instance, out of 68,320 students placed, 67,210 have already reported while in Kajiado some 30,239 were place but 19,313 have been admitted.

Other counties that have reported an over 90 per cent admission include Bomet, Busia, Embu, Homa Bay, Kericho, Kiambu, Kirinyaga, Kisii, Kitui, Lamu, Machakos, Makueni, Meru, Migori, Nandi, Uasin Gishu and Murang’a.

Arid and Semi-Arid counties have also recorded high number of admissions for instance West Pokot has seen 16,773 candidates report against a total of 19,525, Wajir has 8,070 placed and 7,908 have reported, Mandera had 12,999 placed against 12,767 who have reported while Marsabit has seen 9,001 report against a total number of 9,274 placed.

Vocational institutions

So far, Kericho has recorded the highest number of students who have joined vocational institutions at 901 followed by Kitui with 514 and then Kilifi with 464.

Education Cabinet Secretary, Ezekiel Machogu has insisted that the Government is seeking 100 per cent transition, especially now that the KCPE 2023 was the last ever to be done as the country progressively transitions to Competency Based Curriculum (CBC).

“The Government is determined to ensure that every child -whatever their gender, background, or place they live – has equal access to education. In this regard, the Government has the duty to do everything within its power, to remove all barriers that prevent children from attending school and completing basic education,” he said.

He committed to work with the National Government Administration to ensure that they comb all areas across the country so that no child is left behind as curtain falls for Form One admissions under 8-4-4 system.

But as admissions to Form One continue, there has been growing concern over the number of extremely needy cases that have been appealing for assistance to continue with their studies.

This is despite various organisations coming out to support needy but bright students with scholarships, even as the number of applicants continue to rise.

For instance, Machogu said that during the 2024 scholarship applications, a total of 95,016 applied for the scholarship from whom only 14,426, including refugees were picked.

“This speaks to the high demand for scholarships in our country. This is why I commend some of our local and international institutions that has stepped forward to complement the Government scholarships such as the Kenya Commercial Bank, Cooperative Bank, and Equity Foundation, among others.

I call upon more organisations to set aside resources for scholarships as part of the Community Social Responsibility programmes,” said the CS when he commissioned the Elimu scholars a week ago.

Small fraction

He called for support of needy learners saying parents who have the capacity to keep their children in school without strain comprise a small fraction of the society.

He said a majority lead modest lives but struggle to enrol and retain their children in school and that such parents limit their expenditure on other basic needs as they seek to invest in the education of their children because they know the transformational power of education.

“We must give that same hope to those who know educational deprivation today. The Elimu scholarship programme is one of the lifeboats, which has given hope to 52,000 learners,” said the CS.

For Equity Group Foundation, at least 55,000 students who had applied for the Equity’s Wings to Fly were not lucky to get that opportunity and were forced to look for other options.