•Out of the top 100 candidates, top two girls Mellisa Chenziz and Michelle Nawire both scored 410.
•Only Nairobi Primary School and White Star Academy had students in the top 10 in Nairobi.
In a year when girls outshined boys in the 2020 KCPE exams, Shofco Kibera School was not left behind.
Out of the top 100 candidates, the top two girls Mellisa Chenziz and Michelle Nawire both scored 410 marks.
Only Nairobi Primary School and White Star Academy had students in the top 10 in Nairobi.
Shofco candidates beat those from Aga Khan Academy, Consolata School, The AryaVedic School, Makini School among others.
The Kibera School had three students posting over 400 marks, 14 scored between 350 and 399 with just five below 350 among the 22 candidates of 2020 for a mean score of 365, the highest ever.
The Kibera school posted a mean score of 80 in Kiswahili, English (78), Social Studies/CRE (72), Mathematics (70) and Science (64.
Compared with 2019 when they recorded a mean score of 349, the class of 2020 hit all but one of three targets the teachers had set.
“We wanted to beat our mean score record, achieve 100 percent pass which happened and beat the 431 mark set in 2019 which we couldn’t considering the top student nationally managed 433 added to the standardization done to subjects like Science and Mathematics,” Hecky Odera, the Education Director said.
Odera credits a number of strategies for this success, such as embracing community learning, where a select group would be called in for a few hours during lockdown, while teachers would also set questions and send to the students at home.
“The teachers set two tests every week and low performing students were paired with stronger ones in certain subjects so that peer support from girl-to-girl was important in lifting the mean score. We also introduced rewards for various standards if met and this increased competition where no one consistently nailed down the top position. It was always among the top seven,” she said.
For the two top girls here, a desire to lift their families out of poverty fueled their drive to perform better.
“My mother sees me as her only hope, one who will change her situation in future and that is why I had to make sacrifices for these results,” said Michelle, who wants to be an interior designer to change people’s perceptions about Kibera.
Mellisa, wants to be a psychiatrist to provide solutions to mental problems for others after dealing with the same following the death of her mother, said: “I have been taking care of my little sisters and life is not easy. I compare our life with those doing well and I want to make sure I reach that level.”
So far, the school in Kibera, which has over 350 students, has had students sit for KCPE in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 while in Mathare, 250 students from pre-primary to Grade 5 are already on their books.
To get admission at the schools, a thorough vetting process takes place to ensure only the needy get the once in a lifetime opportunity.
Once admitted, the girls have access to a full scholarship. Uniform, fees, medical and food is all catered for and all they have to do is focus on their education.
“With all the help Shofco has given me and my family, I have been able to learn that there is another side to life other than being poor,” Mellisa said.
Michelle concurs: “Without them, I wouldn’t have gone to school and accessed basic commodities. I expect them to continue holding my hand and catering for my needs.”
The two can rest assured that their welfare beyond primary is taken care of given the organisation has structures that ensure their students complete the journey.
“We have a director of future education who focuses on them when they go to high school. We offer continuous mentorship which helps when they go to a new environment and our gender department also offers counselling,” said Odera.
“We also have a policy that a certain level of performance has to be maintained to stay in the programme so knowing their backgrounds, the girls work hard not to lose it. Those here go to great schools while someone gets scholarships to the US come back and the performance speaker quality.”
CEO Kennedy Odede’s vision was to use education to eliminate poverty within the slums and the hope is that once done, these girls will return and sit at the policy making table where decisions about their community are being made.
“Look at the level of change Kennedy has brought here. What if we had just three Kennedys?” posed Odera.
“Whether that happens or not, if a girl is able to change their family, that would be enough.”