Form 1 selection formula to stay

The contentious Form One selection formula favouring pupils from public schools has not been scrapped, according to education officials.

Education permanent secretary James ole Kiyiapi said the formula, which generated a great deal od debate last year, had not been dropped.

“We have been very consistent on this matter,” Prof Kiyiapi said, adding that the number of vacancies available in national schools would be made public by January 6.

“The admission data is currently being analysed, and a firm answer will be known then,” he said.

Education secretary George Godia said the formula will be used in the selection of students to national schools, and the results will be announced on January 13.

In the criteria mooted last year, for every three pupils admitted to national secondary schools from public primary schools, there would be only one from private schools.

“The idea here is to create equity and fairness when selecting the pupils to national schools as is expounded in our Constitution,” Prof Godia told the Sunday Nation by telephone.

Last year, out of 4,517 Form One vacancies in national schools, 3,293 were reserved for candidates from public schools. The remaining 1,224 places went to best performers from private schools.

Prof Godia said the recently elevated 30 provincial schools will be considered national schools in the selection process, capping the total number at 48. Previously there were only 18 national schools.

“So far, Sh25 million has been sent to each of the elevated schools to expand their capacity to absorb more students as well as improve their facilities,” he said.

The government’s plan is to raise the number of Form One students admitted to national schools to 10,000, up from last year’s 4,517.

But competition for vacancies is expected to be stiffer this year because of the high number of candidates who got top grades in the Standard Eight exam.

An analysis of the KCPE results released this week shows the number of top scorers more than doubled. This year, 5,806 candidates scored 400 marks and above compared to last year’s 2,723. Most of the top performers were from private schools.

This means if the government applies the contested formula favouring public primary schools, thousands of top scorers would be locked out of national schools.

The formula works at two levels: first is the district quota, which is arrived at by dividing the number of candidates in a district by the total number of candidates registered nationally and then multiplying it by the number of places available in national schools.

At the second level, the number of candidates from either private or public schools is divided by the number of candidates nationally and then multiplied by the number of vacancies in national schools.

County (formerly provincial) schools will reserve 40 per cent of their places for candidates from their specific regions. Each will select another 40 per cent of candidates from other counties. The remaining 20 per cent will be selected from the district in which the school is located.

But private schools have criticised the new admission criteria, arguing they sacrifice merit at the altar of political expediency.

Meanwhile, the Kenya National Union of Teachers has warned its members against abetting cheating in national examinations.

The union on Saturday expressed dismay at allegations that teachers were participating in examination irregularities.

“Teachers involved in such activities should be disciplined. It is immoral to cheat,” Knut secretary-general David Okuta said.

In one instance, a teacher collected Sh810,000 from pupils and parents to provide candidates with examination papers in advance.

In another case, a district education officer, together with a headmaster, threatened an examination officer with death if she reported cheating at a school.

Mr Okuta called for thorough investigations in counties where cheating was reported.

He was reacting to reports of a dramatic rise in cheating cases in KCPE.

Counties involved in cheating include Migori, Kakamega, Homa Bay and Nairobi. Nyeri, Turkana, Laikipia and Busia recorded no cases of cheating.

The Kenya National Examinations Council said about 8,000 candidates in 334 schools were caught cheating. Knec came up with stiff penalties for cheats, like barring them from re-sitting the exams for two years, but it backtracked in 2010 following a public outcry.

Prof Kiyiapi said Knec was in the process of tightening examination supervision.

“This will involve coming up with stiffer disciplinary action against those involved in cheating. Education reforms currently being undertaken will re-engineer the role of the exams as an assessment tool and also reinforce their administration,” the PS said.