What will happen to learners who failed to select Form One schools?

Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu. [Elvis Ogina, Standard] Some 33,984 students from 2,673 schools are at the mercy of the government as Form One selection results were released yesterday. The learners, some of whom scored highly in last year's Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam, had failed to select schools of choice for placement. Even as the government promised to give them opportunity in public schools, Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu blamed parents and teachers for failing to give proper guidance to learners during schools selection. "The results of the above means many candidates will not get their choices and have to accept that it is not possible to be placed in your dream school," Machogu said. "I direct County Directors of Education to establish the concerned schools with a view of instituting administrative actions against the headteachers and/or schools' management for failing to adequately register learners for examinations." The CS spoke while releasing the Form One placement results at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD). He urged parents to allow learners to take up schools they have been placed in. He directed all Form One students to report to respective schools between February 6 and 13. "Parents are asked to take their learners to the schools they have been placed in. Those who may not be satisfied may approach desired schools for assistance," Machogu said. From the results, 38,972 students (18,794 girls and 20,178 boys) have been selected to join the 106 national schools countrywide. Extra-county schools will admit 228,160 students, including 111,105 girls and 117,055 boys. County schools have been allocated 199,566 students (107,461 girls and 91,566 boys), while sub-county schools will receive 762,610 students, including 372,459 girls and 387,203 boys. Special needs school will have 1,819 students, comprising 871 girls and 948 boys. All 1,230,588 candidates who sat the national examination will be placed in secondary schools across the country in line with the government's 100 per cent transition policy, said Machogu. He reiterated that all Form One students' details must be captured on the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) by March 2. "The special needs education candidates were also placed in the regular schools of their preference, while others were placed in special schools based on their disability categories on merit and choice," Machogu said. The CS said all regions were considered in the placement, which saw 9,019 learners from refugee camps placed in public secondary schools. In addition, 270 students from slum areas were placed in national and extra-county schools of their choice. "This selection process was strictly guided by the principles of merit, choice, equity and availability of space in placing candidates," he said. "This intervention is in line with the government policy to achieve parity in education by considering the needy and vulnerable children in informal settlements in urban areas." Machogu said many counties had inadequate placement capacity, with candidates who sat the examination exceeding the available spaces in secondary schools within the counties. This forced the government to place them in the nearby counties that had sufficient capacities. In Nairobi, the 109 schools in the county have a Form One capacity of 27,145 but the number of candidates was 72,232, leaving a deficit of 45,087 places. Kilifi County with 164 schools has a capacity of 31,258 places with 41,470 candindates, causing a deficit of 10,212 places. Mombasa with 56 schools and a capacity of 12,801 places had 22,360 candidates who the KCPE exam, leaving a deficit of 9,559 places. Kajiado County with 95 schools has a capacity of 20,640 places and 25,605 candidates, recording a deficit of 4,965 places. Turkana with 63 schools has a capacity of 12,096 places and 16,796 cnadidates (deficit of 4,700 places). Garissa with 41 schools has a capacity of 7,273 places and 9,908 (deficit of 2,635 places). Kwale with 104 schools has a capacity of 22,633 places and 24,442 candidates (deficit of 1,809 places). Taita Taveta with 54 schools has a capacity of 6,768 places and 8,477 candidates (deficit of 1,709 places). Kitui with 449 schools has a capacity of 41,184 places and 42,262 candidates (deficit of 1,078 places). Narok with 171 schools has a capacity of 33,360 places and 34,262 candidates (deficit of 902 places). Tana River with 38 schools has a capacity of 5,232 places and 6,035 candidates (deficit of 803 places). Baringo with 176 schools has a capacity of 18,757 places and 18,757 candidates (deficit of 613 places). West Pokot with 185 schools has a capacity of 16,178 places and 16,687 candidates (deficit of 509 places), Lamu County's 27 schools with a capacity of 3,264 places and 3,760 candidates recorded a deficit of 496 places. Machogu said he will address the shortfall with relevant authorities to mitigate future scenarios. "I will take a personal initiative to consult with leadership from these areas to address this perennial deficit in capacity," he said. Kabianga High School was the most favourite choice, with 153,074 students expressing interest against a capacity of 768 places. Nanyuki High School was selected by 148,827 students though it can only accommodate 576, Nyandarua High School was the choice of 137,511 but with a capacity of 240 while Pangani Girls attracted 119,265 students against a capacity of 384. Others are Maseno School with 105,504 students expressing interest against a capacity of 720, while Alliance Girls' High School has a capacity of 384 but 104,763 students expressed interest. Nakuru High School was selected by 103,909 students, but can only accommodate 336, while Kapsabet Boys attracted 99,542 choices against a capacity of 384. Mang'u High School attracted 98,146 against a capacity of 480 and Butere Girls High School was selected by 95,550 students, but can only admit 768. Machogu said no student should be sent away due to school fees balance. He also warned heads of institutions against overburdening parents with unnecessary requirements. He urged parents to only pay the fees stipulated by the Ministry of Education.

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