Stop punishing pupils who did well, school heads tell ministry

Secondary school heads now want the Education ministry to come up with a cutoff mark for Form One admission.

The principals want entry into day, county and national schools to require specific marks to avoid the confusion in admission being experienced currently.

They argued that high-scoring pupils should be rewarded by allowing them to join good schools as the learners sit one examination, but score different marks.

This, they say, would avoid punishing those who have "worked hard and achieved good results as has been the case this year".

Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (Kessha) National Chairperson John Awiti said a large number of children have rejected the choices given to them by the ministry.

"We are perplexed that candidates who got as low as 200 marks have been placed in national and county schools leaving out those who have performed well," said Awiti who was addressing the media at Kisumu Girls High School over the weekend.

Awiti added that the scenario currently is that poor performers are now celebrating while those who performed well are still struggling to get the schools of their choices and this is killing learners' morale.

"As much as we understand that affirmative action must be done, we would want it done in a manner that accommodates merit so that all education stakeholders are comfortable with the process," said Awiti.

On the ongoing criticism over high school fees, Kessha Vice Chairperson Indimuli Kahi said principals should not be demonised as they are following the correct procedures.