Improved KCPE performance of Northern Kenya schools despite terror attacks

Despite the mass exodus of teachers in Northern Kenya due to Al Shabaab attacks, candidates in hotspot counties of Garissa, Wajir and Mandera performed better than expected in the 2015 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education KCPE.

Latest data released by the Kenya National Examinations Council shows the mean scores for all the three counties increased significantly despite the odds that 2015 KCPE candidates faced.

The mean score of Garissa rose to 176.86 up from 157.56 last year while that of   Wajir increased to 183.49 up from 175.34 last year. The mean score for Mandera County also rose to 173.68 up from 151.97 last year.

Interestingly, Mandera County which suffered some of the worst attacks by Al Shabaab that prompted the exit of hundreds of teachers had the highest increase in mean score of 21.71 followed by Garissa which rose by 19.3. The mean score for Wajir rose by 8.15

This is despite the fact that the general performance of public schools in other parts of the country recorded a significant decline, sparking concerns from educations stakeholders.

There had been strong fears that that the performance of the three counties would plunge significantly following teachers and education crisis sparked by the activities of Al Shabaab.

Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i expressed pleasant surprise at the performance of the three counties in Northern Kenya despite the acute teacher shortage experienced.

Exodus of the non-local teachers sparked an education crisis in the counties as county governments resorted to desperate measures like employing untrained teachers to ease the biting shortage.

The teacher shortage had also sparked sharp debate in the country with some people calling for national examinations in Northern Kenya to be postponed to allow candidates more time to prepare.