Form One Admission Crisis Looms Due to Surging Student Numbers

The government admitted that it is facing difficulty next year during Form One admission for KCPE applicants.

Primary School PS Belio Kipsang stated that school infrastructure is inadequate to accommodate the large number of students expected. According to the PS, there are 280,000 more KCPE candidates this year than last year.

Ministry officials disclosed this information during their appearance before the National Assembly Education Committee on Monday to deliberate on the supplementary budget.

According to Kipsang, the sector will experience a cut of Sh3.34 billion under the Junior Secondary School Improvement Program, another Sh1 billion under the Secondary School Infrastructure Improvement Program, and Sh138 million under the Primary School Infrastructure Improvement Program.

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He stated that, while the government intends to improve the learning environment in schools through building and improved infrastructure in order to increase enrolment, the exchequer has slashed allocations.

The ministry also planned to address the incoming second class by improving infrastructure in Junior Secondary Schools. According to Kipsang, Nairobi County faced a critical shortage of classrooms, particularly at the primary school level. Therefore, there was an immediate requirement to build 5,000 classrooms across the 17 sub-constituencies over a three-year period to address the current deficiencies.

He also stated that, while enrollment in public secondary schools is currently at 3,858,836, it is likely to rise to 4,253,155 next year with the transition of this year’s KCPE candidates.

Enrollment in Junior Secondary Schools is also predicted to expand from 1,081,887 to 2,170,429 students. According to the PS, this would necessitate the construction of 3,000 extra classrooms at a cost of Sh3.3 billion. He stated that the funds had been transferred to the Constituency Development Fund.

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Committee chairman Julius Melly inquired whether the surge in enrollment was related to students attempting to avoid the challenges associated with the CBC curriculum. He questioned whether some learners initially designated to enter Grade Seven opted to register for the KCPE in order to bypass the transitional difficulties.

With 144,845 more learners registered in LCB than the 142,000 target. Kenya National Examination Council Chief Executive Officer David Njeng’ere stated that many students who had dropped out of school returned to take exams.

Dr. Njeng’ere explained that since this is the final examination under the 8-4-4 system, many learners, including those who had previously dropped out of school, chose to register for it.

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Kipsang added that this approach is a means of reducing illiteracy in the country, with some learners opting to return to school to enhance their academic qualifications in response to changing life demands.

Form One Admission Crisis Looms Due to Surging Student Numbers