• Samburu North subcounty director of Education Peter Emanman said out of 10,44 pupils, only 372 have so far joined secondary school.
• The region’s only three girls secondary schools — Baragoi mixed, Baragoi Girls' High School and Tuum Girls High School — have admitted 73 students.
The majority of pupils who sat KCPE exams in Samburu North last year are yet to join Form 1 due to increased insecurity as a result of cattle rustling attacks.
Samburu North subcounty director of Education Peter Emanman said out of 10,44 pupils, only 372 have so far joined secondary school.
The region’s only three girls secondary schools — Baragoi mixed, Baragoi Girls' High School and Tuum Girls High School — have admitted 73 students.
“We were expecting 355 students to join Form 1 in our girl’s secondary schools but only 73 have been so far admitted in our three schools here in Samburu North,” Emanman said.
Despite the three schools being equipped with necessary resources, Samburu North MP Alois Lentoimaga said parents are afraid of enrolling their children in the institutions due to insecurity.
“We want a hundred per cent transition of children from primary to secondary schools but we have only three students admitted in Form 1 at Baragoi Mixed, two to Tuum Girls High School, and 15 at Baragoi Girls' High School because people are living in fear,” he said.
Tension is still high in the region following increased cattle rustling attacks in which people among them schoolgoing children have been killed and others are injured.
“Women are forced to relieve themselves in basins at night for fear of the attacks. Recently a secondary school girl was injured by a bullet and livestock driven away by cattle rustlers,” a resident said.
The government has been blamed for confiscating National Police Reservists guns, a move residents say has contributed to increased insecurity in the region.