By Luke Anami and Kennedy Okwach
Kakamega, Kenya: The high number of over age pupils is responsible for poor performance in the just released KCPE results in Kakamega County.
County Director of Education Tom Majani said out of 37,000 registered candidates in 2013, 15,871 were aged between 15 and16 years; 8,924 aged between 17 and 18 years and 1,790 were aged above 17 years.
While most of the schools force them to repeat, others began their studies late.
“This is more than 70 per cent of pupils who sat for KCPE last year. It’s a worrying trend because most of these students should by now be sitting for KCSE and not KCPE,” said Mr Majani in an interview with The Standard.
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“Most pupils with advanced age are adolescents and majority are indisciplined,” he said.
In the county, candidates aged 16 and above posted a mean grade of 197 compared to those aged between 15 and 16 years who got a mean grade of 219, those aged 14 and15 got a mean grade of 268 and those aged 12-13 got a mean grade of 301.
“You may find an 18-year-old still in primary school because he was forced to repeat due to poor grades. When do you expect them to finish their education?” asked Majani
The county education boss blamed teachers for forcing pupils to repeat and said the move discourages them because their efforts are not recognised.
“We should maximise our efforts in ensuring students advance in the education ladder as opposed to forcing them to repeat,” he added.
Out of the 12 constituencies that make up the county, Mumias led not only in the county but also the country. Malava on the other hand was last, a factor that has irked the county government.
