Amina launches national Form One Admission drive

Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed at Kiamaina Primary School in Bahati, Nakuru County, on January 21, 2019. [Harun Wathari, Standard]

Ministry of Education has launched a Form One admission national drive to take in all standard eight candidates who got pregnant during last year’s national examinations.

Also targeted are candidates who have been denied chance for secondary education due to insecurity, inhibitive cultural practices and drought.

Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed said the government is also tracing to admit all candidates who failed to join Form One because of fees constraints occasioned by indirect costs of secondary education and extreme poverty in households.

Overall, Amina said only 130,000 candidates are unaccounted for, and directed all Ministry of Education officials to work with regional security administration to track and admit the students.

“I directed education officials in all counties to map out the 2018 KCPE candidates who became mothers in the course of the year and make special arrangements for them to join Form One,” said Amina.

The CS pleaded with the relevant government agencies to support the Ministry towards achieving 100 per cent transition policy.

By yesterday, some 895,987 students had been fully enrolled into Form One, with most counties registering above 97 per cent admission.

However, six counties–Mombasa, Lamu, Kwale, Samburu, Isiolo and Tana River-registered below 70 per cent.

“This low enrolment rate is unacceptable at this point in the transition process. These counties will therefore be the Ministry’s point of first intensive focus,” Amina said.

She spoke at Parklands Arya Girls High School during the launch of the Last Mile Form One Admission Campaign towards 100 Percent Transition.

Basic Education PS Belio Kipsang said the Ministry will not spare any obstacle denying any student a chance to proceed to secondary education.

The campaign seeks to ensure all the 1,036,220 candidates who sat KCPE in 2018 join Form One.

Data from the Ministry shows some 640 candidates have opted to repeat class eight while 2,299 have joined vocational colleges.

Finer details reveal that some candidates may be missing because Nemis did not capture their names, some may have asked for transfers to other schools which are yet to be captured while others may have moved locations in nomadic areas.

It also emerged that some candidates may have been eliminated by natural attrition such as death.

The CS pushed for a “re-entry policy” to guide school principals and head teachers to admit, accommodate and support returning students.