By Editorial
The Form One selection has, as usual, left a bitter taste in the mouths of many parents and students. As the students transit from primary to secondary school, majority are those not admitted to their preferred school. Indeed, some have already begun pressuring their parents for a transfer in Form Two. For many, it will be the first taste of official bureaucracy and condescion.
In their formative stages of life, they have become victims of a supposedly fair system. However, barring the challenges the Ministry of Education and the Government are facing in balancing merit and fairness, their biggest failure could be not creating enough awareness on the new selection criteria.
The process seems clouded in mystery, hence suspicion that it is unfair and biased. There are also other unanswered questions: How could one of the top KCPE girls, with an impressive 425 marks out of a possible 500, miss a place in her national school of choice? Won’t this foment suspicion of an unfair selection?
The Ministry of Education should clearly explain the selection process. It should explain how it arrives at placements. The aim of placing candidates based on their choice of school, merit, equity in school placement through quotas and affirmative action has not been explained properly to parents and pupils concerned.
This year’s selection was done at four levels, namely National, Extra County, County Special/Integrated and District Schools. But do parents and pupils know this? Were they informed when they were making their choices, and what the consequences could be?
This has even prompted Nyeri County leaders to move to court, crying foul over the selection. They claim their pupils have been denied places in their better performing schools at the expense of “outsiders”. This is a serious claim, especially when politicians pick it up. How did the ministry allow this traction? It could very well trigger a similar uproar in other counties.
Besides providing a platform for a sound education, Form One selection has long aimed at enhancing national integration and should the Nyeri County situation not be given adequate attention, it will kill this noble mission. When students interact with others from far-flung regions, they form lifetime relationships, which serve a greater role of unifying the country.
Through these interactions, they get to appreciate the culture, beliefs and world view of those from different backgrounds. This should be maintained for national prosperity inasmuch as it is a delicate balancing act.
Ultimately, the Ministry of Education and the Government must focus on expansion of secondary schools to accommodate the ever-increasing number of students. The coveted national schools can only accommodate a mere 16,000. This is far too low. Indeed, since the introduction of free primary learning in 2003, student numbers have been swelling.
The scramble for Form One places, therefore, indicts the conduct and vision of the ministry, especially when it allows an injustice such as denying a bright student a place in a national school due to limited slots. The ministry and the Jubilee government must give education the attention it deserves.
Apart from being an avenue for poor folks to get out of abject want, education provides a unique level ground for citizens to compete for opportunities in life. Education also makes a country civilised and mature, especially during potentially confrontational contests such as elections. It must, therefore, be strongly supported in terms of resources and be put under the care of brilliant minds.
Besides the Form One selection, there are myriad challenges facing the sector. Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi sits in an enviable position to right the wrongs. The experienced professor and professional carries no political baggage besides being appointed by the Jubilee administration.
He knows well what ails the sector and the numerous recommendations made by several taskforces over the years. How about dusting some of those reports and implementing the relevant proposals? Streamlining the transition from primary to secondary education might just be one of his big successes.
