Nairobi,KENYA:Nemes statistics from the ministry of education indicates that 87 percent of Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) Candidates have already reported to various secondary schools in the country.
This is in comparison to last year where the enrollment rate was at 79.9%
This means that 895,987 students have now fully enrolled in Form One.
According to Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed the Ministry is determined to do everything possible to realize 100 percent transition, although this enrollment is seven percentage points better than last year.
“Majority of the Counties, have recorded transition rates above 80%, the minimum standard we expect at this point as schools finish the process of uploading their admission details,” Said Amina
Relief for Kisauni orphan who scored 382 marks
She, however, said that the Ministry is concerned about the enrollment rate in six Counties below 70% which she termed as unacceptable at this point in the transition process. These are Mombasa, Lamu, Kwale, Samburu, Isiolo and Tana River.
Rapid analysis of the reasons for the failure to hit the 100 percent admission mark shows that there have been challenges arising from teenage pregnancies, early marriages, insecurity, inhibitive cultural practices, indirect costs of secondary education and extreme poverty in households, especially in arid and semi-arid areas.
“The Ministry is determined to continue addressing all these challenges in collaboration with other arms of government and stakeholders,” added Amina
In the face of these challenges, the Ministry has now launched a countrywide weeklong Last Mile Form One Admission Campaign towards 100 Percent Transition exercise meant to trace the 130,000 students who have yet to report to any school.
“We have prepared data packets bearing actual names and location of these students with the aim of personalizing this last mile exercise right to the individual,” She said
The Cs further, said they will not leave any child behind as the data will be shared with local administrators who will team up with Directors from the Ministry in their final push.
The head teachers of respective schools where the students sat the KCPE, have been called upon to make available all the vital information to aid the process of ensuring that all students enrolled in secondary schools.
From the current NEMIS data, 640 candidates have opted to repeat class eight while 2,299 have joined vocational colleges.
