Thousands miss out on provincial school selection

By Beatrice Obwocha

Thousands of pupils have been locked out of provincial secondary schools selection as the Education ministry considers the new districts in the intake.

Majority of the pupils may not join the schools they selected because some of the districts, which had not been created, do not have provincial schools.

The Ministry of Education operationalised the newly-created districts and the selection exercise was computerised.

School principals were presented with lists of already selected students and all they had to do was write admission letters.

Investigation by The Standard revealed that provincial schools were required to admit 35 per cent of students from the province and 60 per cent from the district where the school is located.

Five per cent is reserved for students from outside the province.

The selection process, according to principals interviewed, also locked out students who may have applied for schools in larger districts, before new ones were created.

.

Keep Reading

• How can I help my kids build stronger social skills?
• Money talk at the dinner table: Teach children value
• How to prepare your toddler for a new sibling
• Teaching kids to choose the right company early

For instance, Naivasha Girls High School, a provincial school, will have to admit 35 per cent of students from Rift Valley Province and 60 per cent from Naivasha District, hence locking out pupils from the Nakuru districts of Molo, Nakuru, Nakuru North, and Njoro.

Not advised

Bahati Girls, also a provincial school will admit 35 per cent students from Rift Valley Province and 60 per cent from Nakuru North District, a small region that comprises only Subukia constituency.

In Nyandarua South District, pupils who had applied for places in Nyahururu High School, a provincial school located in Nyandarua North District, will automatically be locked out.

Also, school heads were not advised by the Education ministry that the selection would be done as per the newly-created districts, so they did not advise pupils to choose institutions that fall in their districts to increase their chances of admission.

"This means the pupils were automatically disqualified for choosing schools that do not fall under their districts," said a school principal, who requested anonymity.

Provincial schools that fall in newly-created districts had to take the bulk of students from the area, despite dismal performance.

"We were shocked when we received the list, because it contained some (of the) lowest marks we have ever admitted," said another principal of a leading girl’s school in Nakuru.

Principals said some districts did not have provincial schools, so neighbouring districts absorbed the pupils. Chairman of Kenya Schools Head Association Cleophus Tirop criticised the system, saying it had denied qualified students a chance to be admitted into good schools.

It also emerged that some new districts only had same-sex schools.