The National Assembly Majority leader Aden Duale has asked the Ministry of Education to investigate mass failure in KCSE exams by students from North Eastern region.
Duale said Cabinet Secretary George Magoha should form a task force to inquire into the performance of students from the region over the last seven years.
Before his current role, Magoha was the chairman of the Kenya National Examinations Council.
The Garissa MP spoke at NEP Girls Secondary School during institution's parents day event.
An analysis of Garissa county KCSE results data from 2016 to 2018 shows only 189 students attained the minimum university entry grades of C+ and above.
The data shows that in the last two years none of the candidates managed an A (plain) mean grade. Only two managed an A- (minus) while ten got a B+ (plus) with 26 attaining B (plain). Some 1,200 candidates attained D (minus).
Duale said if the Education CS will not form such a task force to investigate the matter, he will petition parliament to form a select committee over the failures.
“We must know why there is a mass failure in the national examinations in this region. This place is not an exclusive area for students to score D or D+. We will not accept it,” Duale said.
The three counties of Garissa, Wajir and Mandera have often performed dismally in the national examinations.
Although some stakeholders have attributed the poor performance to a mass exodus of teachers as a result of insecurity, others feel that it cannot be the sole factor.
Non-resident teachers especially those near the borders have been targeted by Somalia based al Shabaab militants.
Duale said local leaders are concerned by the mass failures despite huge resources pumped to schools in terms of infrastructure and bursaries for students.
He also took issue with the huge number of exam cancellations in the region.
“As members of Parliament from the region we will petition parliament to investigate these kinds of cases,” he said.
Duale also urged parents to follow up on their children’s educational progress in schools.
(edited by O. Owino)
