• Lari MP Jonah Mburu and his Limuru counterpart Peter Mwathi want the government to join county leaders in finding a solution.
• Politicians say motivation has not worked
Kiambu leaders yesterday joined residents in decrying the poor scores in KCSE exams of recent years.
They said many students are getting grade D, which "can't take them anywhere", and instead condemn them to casual labour.
Cleric Kamau Nyota said parents feel let down after investing so much of their efforts, time and resources in their children's education, only for them to fail. It's a mockery of exams, he said.
Lari MP Jonah Mburu and his Limuru counterpart Peter Mwathi urged the government to join county leaders in finding a solution. They said motivation has not worked.
"We've done all we can, including motivation, yet our students are still perform badly," Mburu said.
Mwathi said the county had been leading in national exams about 20 years ago. Today, only national schools from the county record attractive results, he said.
They want top performers in KCPE exam admitted to national schools. Mwathi said many pupils face discrimination because they score good grades, but only a few of them get the chance to join national schools.
He urged the government to set up one stream in the national schools for local learners who perform well in their primary education.
“We don't want to see national schools in our constituencies, but only one or two students are from this county. Whenever there is an emergency, these schools rush to MPs and the governor for assistance. We need to feel part and parcel of them,” Mwathi said.
“By so doing, the pupils in primary schools will start working hard to get slots and in the process, good grades will be realised.”
Parents say the failure rate is worrying and must be fixed urgently.
County Parents Association chairman Samuel Wanjema yesterday said more than 70 per cent of students who sat KCSE had D+ and below.
“This is so discouraging to parents. In some schools, the best students scored D+ and even a D plain,” he said.
“Every parent's dream is to see their children perform well in class. They feel a lot of pain when their children fail the most crucial exams.”
Wanjema appealed to county education director Victoria Mulili to come up with a solution.
“We shall push the government, leaders and other stakeholders until our children perform well. As parents, we are ready to offer any support."
He said the education office has kept them in the dark over its plans to reverse the trend.