Kitui County leaders seek academic excellence

By PAUL MUTUA

Kitui County leaders have vowed to better academic standards in the region. 

The leaders, who attended a forum at Kitui’s Kenya Forest Research Institute (Kefri) yesterday, termed the county’s performance in national examinations a shame.

Governor Julius Malombe, who chaired the session, said the trend cannot be tolerated and asked teachers to stop condemning students to a future of hardship.

Malombe announced his government would spend Sh286 million to support education projects in the county in 2013/2014 financial year.

 “It is shameful that Kitui County continues to have poor academic results while its neighbours excel. In the recent 2013 KCPE results, the county was ranked 38 out of 47 counties with a mean score of 233 marks. This is a drop from the 2012 position when it was ranked 36 out of 47 and scored a mean of 267,” Dr Malombe lamented.

The governor said the continued poor academic performance of the county would negatively affect its competitiveness at national, regional and international levels.

“My administration is keen to lay a firm foundation for academic excellence in the county. In order to give a strong foundation to education at nursery, pre-unit and lower primary school in line with the mandate of county Governments, Sh72 million will be spend in various projects targeting early childhood development and education.”