Tight race for places at national schools

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By SAMUEL SIRINGI ssiringi@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Thursday, December 29  2011 at  22:00

IN SUMMARY

• Contest for Form One places stiffer after high number of pupils obtained top grades in Standard Eight examinations

Competition for Form One places in national schools is expected to be stiffer after a high number of candidates obtained top grades in the Standard Eight examinations.

Some 5,806 candidates scored 400 marks and above this year.

This is far more than the 4,200 who were admitted to the 18 national schools this year based on the 2010 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination results.

The government has elevated 30 provincial schools to national schools although it is not clear whether they are fully prepared to accommodate new candidates next year.

Education permanent secretary James ole Kiyiapi recently said the government planned to spend Sh750 million on the newly-created national schools this financial year to prepare them for their new status.

The plan has been to increase the number of candidates admitted to the national schools to 10,000.

Releasing the KCPE results on Wednesday, Education Minister Sam Ongeri said each county managed to produce candidates with 400 marks, a score that puts most of the pupils in good standing to join national schools.

That is more than double the 2,723 who scored the mark last year, pointing to the fact that a higher number of candidates will stake claim in admission to national schools.

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Nairobi alone produced 664 candidates, the highest in all the 47 counties.

The county has 5,014 candidates with 350 marks and above.

Kiambu had 2,934 candidates who had 350 marks and above, 356 of them with 400 marks.

Kakamega had 228 candidates who had 400 marks and above.

Tana River, Lamu, West Pokot and Mandera had only one candidate each scoring 400 marks and above, implying candidates with as little as 350 could get admission into national schools under the quota system of admission.

Of the higher grades, Prof Ongeri said: “The quality of performance was much better compared to last year.”

He said each county performed well and had confirmed that quality performance was not confined to any particular region.

“This is a good turn of events for regional and national integration because each county will contribute quality performers to our best schools,” he said.

The Form One selection is scheduled to begin on January 13, with the national schools being the first to pick students. (READ: Form One selection date set)

Quota system

In preparation for the selection, the Education ministry recently said the national schools will still use the quota system of admitting candidates from all districts.

The ministry guidelines also do away with the provincial schools category, which have been renamed county schools, and will be allowed to select candidates from across the country.

The new rules will affect the 750,000 pupils who sat the KCPE examinations last month.

The rules were spelt out in a circular by the director of secondary education, Mr Robert Masese.