Govt Ramp Up Mop-Up Exercise, Targets 131,000 Form One Students Yet to Report to Secondary Schools
Senior Ministry of Education officials in Nyeri, collaborating with National Government Administrative Officers, are working to ensure that the remaining three percent of learners who have not yet enrolled in secondary school join Form One by the end of this week.
Jane Njogu, the County Director of Education, reported that out of the over 16,000 students who took the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Primary Schools (KCPE) in the county, approximately 1,000 learners have yet to transition to Form One.
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Njogu stated, “Nyeri is at over 90 percent. By the end of this week, we will have completed the mop-up exercise.”
During the mop-up exercise, Njogu, along with the Nyeri Central Assistant County Commissioner and chiefs, facilitated the registration of more than 25 learners from the Nyeri Central sub-county.
Similar exercises are underway in the remaining seven sub-counties to ensure a total of 16,470 students successfully transition to secondary school.
To avoid students falling behind, Njogu emphasized that many learners would be joining nearby Day Secondary schools.
She acknowledged potential disappointments among some students regarding school choices but encouraged them to join Day Secondary schools, highlighting that the government covers full tuition fees for these schools, with the only exception being lunch expenses.
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Addressing uniform concerns, the director reiterated the Ministry’s directive, permitting students who cannot afford new school uniforms to continue using their primary school uniforms until their parents can afford the new set.
Regarding nationwide figures, as of Friday last week, 131,854 learners expected to transition to Form One this year had not yet reported to secondary schools.
Ministry of Education data showed that out of 1.4 million who sat the 2023 KCPE, 1,268,185 had reported to various school categories by January 26. Of the 701,066 boys selected for secondary schools, 642,396 had been admitted, while 693,378 girls selected for secondary school, 625,789 have been admitted.
Notably, Kakamega, Laikipia, and Mombasa counties achieved the highest student reporting percentages at 99 percent each.
Conversely, Kajiado recorded the lowest secondary school transition rate at 64 percent, with other counties such as Narok at 72 percent, Isiolo at 77 percent, and Kilifi at 79 percent also experiencing relatively low transition rates to secondary school.
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Govt Ramp Up Mop-Up Exercise, Targets 131,000 Form One Students Yet to Report to Secondary Schools