Garissa's St Peters ACK produces the best candidate in the region in Mohamed Kureish who scored 408 marks
Image: REUBEN GITHINJI
Private primary schools have yet again outshone their public counterparts, producing all the top candidates in this year's KCPE exam results.
A look at the results shows not a single candidate from a public school was among the top 10 in each of the three counties.
The results were released by Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha in Nairobi on Monday.
Kenya National Union of Teachers executive secretary for Garissa Abdirizak Hussein said the results were not surprising.
“This is the same story we have been repeatedly saying that without teachers and infrastructure, candidates in public schools will always trail their counterparts in private schools no matter how bright one is,” Abdirizak said.
He added, “a quick look at some of our public primary schools gives the impression that the government has either neglected them or is unable to finance their infrastructural development, including recruitments of teachers.”
In Garissa county, St Peters ACK produced one of their best performances, posting a mean score of 380 - the best in the region.
Although the boys dominated in most of the schools, the girls also performed better compared to previous years.
Mohamed Kureish of St Peters ACK produced topped the region with 408 marks. He attributed his performance to hard work and support from parents and teachers.
Kureish, 13, wants to join Starehe Boys Centre and proceed to university to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor.
His classmate Thureya Ibrahim scored 404 marks. She wants to join Kenya High.
Ibrahim thanked her parents and teachers urged the community to give equal opportunities to both boys and girls.
“I am a living testimony that a girl can even do better if given the chance. It is time our parents really reflect on some of the cultural practices like FGM and early marriages,” Ibrahim said.
The school’s headteacher Yusuf Amolo said they were expecting to post good results.
“We had put a lot of hard work and encouraged our candidates to perform. We have been improving our general performance over the years and we want to do even better in the future,” Amolo said.
At Mnara Junior Academy, Yakub Ahmed scored 406 marks. He said candidates from the region had proved that they can compete with the rest of the country given an equal playing ground.
“There is this notion that Northeastern region cannot produce good grades and results. That is changing as we continue to make our region proud in national exams,” Ahmed said.
He wants to join Alliance High School and later study medicine at the university.
Suhdhi Ahmed (403 marks) challenged other pupils to work hard in their studies if they are t record good grades.
edited by peter obuya