Counties that have shouldered the student transition burden

The 11 counties that have carried the 100 per cent transition burden by admitting more students than the total number of candidates that sat KCPE exams within their territories can be revealed.

Data from the Ministry of Education’s National Education Information Management System (Nemis) shows that Mombasa, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Murang’a, Tharaka Nithi, Nairobi, Turkana, Uasin Gishu, Kajiado, Narok and Vihiga took in more students from other counties.

With a cumulative admission rate of slightly above 93 per cent by last evening, the secondary schools in these counties had taken in 191,242 students.

Admitted learners

Only three counties – Embu, Makueni and West Pokot – admitted learners equivalent to the number of students who sat Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams in the regions.

The remaining 33 counties registered enrollment of between 66 per cent (Marsabit) and 99 per cent (Mandera).

The disparity in county enrollment numbers means that some counties, which do not have adequate capacities, loaded thousands of their students on the others.

This puts the spotlight on counties with inadequate capacities for students in their secondary schools.

Overall, the Nemis data shows that 997,697 students have been admitted to various secondary schools following the government initiative to absorb all students who sat last year’s KCPE examination.

This means that of the 1,015,492 candidates who sat the exam, only 17,795 are yet to report to various schools.

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday issued a stern three-day notice directing regional officers to ensure all children are admitted to schools.

“I am ordering that by end of February, whoever will not have mopped up his area of jurisdiction to ensure students are admitted, action should be taken on the administrator and the parents as well,” the President said in Nakuru.

Uhuru warned regional officers, including chiefs and assistant chiefs, that they must each know which students were not yet in school.

“If it’s about fees, it is our responsibility together with the area MP and well-wishers to ensure the student gets to school,” said Uhuru.

The directive will put pressure on counties that are yet to ensure 100 per cent transition in their regions.

Counties lagging behind include Marsabit, at 66 per cent, Tana River at 74 per cent, and Samburu at 79 per cent. The rest of the counties have posted above 80 per cent transition rates.

The ministries of Education, Interior and Coordination of National Government and Teachers Service Commission (TSC) have been jointly engaging in the mop-up campaign.

Principals and head teachers were directed to enhance support services to help young mothers selected to their schools to enroll.

All education officials in all counties were also directed to map out the 2019 KCPE candidates from their regions and make special arrangements for them to join Form One. Speaking last week, Education CS George Magoha said the unaccounted for students might include candidates of private schools and those who reported to schools that they had not been selected to, thereby missing out on the Nemis data capture.

The ministry data reveals that in most counties, some students have not been traced, some have repeated class while others went to private schools. In northern frontier counties, some of the candidates were refugees.

Broken down, Mombasa admitted 8,142, yet the total number of students who sat the exams in the county were 18,790.

A big number of the students have not been traced, while some have opted to repeat Class Eight. However, even with the hiccups, the county transition rate is 110 per cent.

Nyeri admitted 21,184 students, yet those who sat KCPE exams in the county were 17,269. This means the county took in an extra 3,915, translating to 123 per cent transition.

Kirinyaga admitted 14,393 students yet it only had 13,623 candidates sit last year’s KCPE exams. This means the county took in additional 770 students, translating to 107 per cent transition.

Murang’a had by last evening admitted 33,972 students. The county had 26,602 candidates sit the KCPE examination last year. This means the county took in some 7,370 students, translating to 128 per cent transition rate.

Tharaka Nithi admitted 13,907 students against a candidature of 12,162, translating to 115 per cent. Nairobi County had 23,384 against a capacity of 21,137, translating to 111 per cent transition rate.

By last evening, Turkana had admitted 6,187 students against candidature of 11,561. The county has a capacity of 6,652. However, some of the candidates were refugees and data shows that many of them have repeated Class Eight. The transition rate in is registered as being at 145 per cent.

In Uasin Gishu, some 23,380 students have been admitted against candidature of 25,853. Some of the candidates have repeated class pushing transition rate to 110 per cent.

And in Kajiado, some 11,245 students have been admitted in secondary schools against a candidature of 19,426. Data shows that some of the candidates have repeated class, others admitted to private schools while others have not been traced. The transition rate is 124 per cent.

In Narok, 15,983 candidates have so far been admitted to secondary schools, against a candidature of 24,975. The transition rate in the county was put at 105 per cent.

Vihiga has achieved a 113 per cent transition rate, having admitted 19,465 students against a 17,305 candidature.