Lawyer seeks special selection process for Baringo students

The Ministry of Education is under pressure to consider special Form One selection for candidates from areas affected by insecurity in Baringo County.

Last week when releasing the 2021 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education  (KCPE) exams, Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha announced that Form One selection for 2022 will be finished in two weeks.

While the selection is ongoing, lawyer Fridah Lotuiya has expressed concern over the process and wants learners from the region given special consideration.

In a letter to the Principal Secretary Ministry of Education, Ms Lotuiya called on the government to do a mapping of all the schools that were affected by insecurity in the region.

“Do a mapping for all the schools that were affected by the insecurity, and after such mapping, accord a special consideration to the candidates from the mapped schools when admitting them to Form One in various secondary schools,” reads the letter dated March 31, 2022.

The letter was received by the Ministry on April 1. Schools in Mochongoi, Makutani and Ilchamus wards were affected by insecurity. The disruption, she said, saw schools closed and at the time of sitting the examination, tension was high.

Lotuiya said that even with the environment not being conducive, some students performed exceptionally well.

She said it would be unfair and unjust to use uniform admission criteria for all the candidates, without taking into consideration the prevailing circumstances during the time of examination.

“The 8-4 4 curriculum does not take into consideration any previous performances by the students, and therefore circumstances prevailing at the time of the final exam become critical and relevant if justice is to be done,” she said.

The Ministry of Education, she added, should consider a special programme to fully sponsor candidates from the areas affected by insecurity.

“Fully sponsoring such students ensures that they get to access equal opportunities with all the other students, and gives hope to their families,” she said.

She added that families had lost their livestock, their breadwinners were killed and their children who sat the examinations risked missing opportunities due to lack of funds.

Kapindasum Primary School candidates reported a mean score of 317. The candidates sat their examination at Chemorongion Primary School where they were moved to following a wave of insecurity.

Elijah Kiptoo, the headteacher of Kapindasum Primary, said of the 30 candidates, the top student had 365 marks.