Lobby: Repeat Form I selection

• Recently concluded exercise punished top pupils by denying them chances in national schools, say tutors

A lobby group wants the Ministry of Education to repeat the Form One selection process.

The Association of Professional Teachers (Tap) said the process needed to be given “a human face” and reward top performers in the exam, irrespective of where they schooled.

“The criteria used has been too ruthless to many pupils who scored very well in the exam,” Tap’s chairman Abraham Kawewa said.

“When a pupil feels punished for scoring good marks in an exam then we are sending the wrong signals to them as educators.”

He said this as it emerged that top performers in last year’s KCPE, especially from top private schools like Gilgil Hills and Friends Academy, may have been hard hit by the quota system.

Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA) also singled out Lily Academy, Makini Schools, Good Shepherds and Mt Kenya Academy as having been affected in similar manner.

“Majority of the good performers in all these private schools, among others, have not been selected for secondary schools of their choice,” KPSA chairman John Mwai said.

He said they were yet to establish the number of top performers who had been affected as schools were still receiving admission letters.

Friends Academy director Fredrick Mutwiri said 28 pupils scored over 400 marks in the exam yet only two had been selected to join Starehe Boys and Nairobi School.

The rest, he said, had been admitted to schools they did not chose.

“Our pupils are very frustrated. Their hard work was not rewarded with schools of their choice,” Mr Mutwiri said in a phone interview.

He argued that the status of national secondary schools would be thrown in doubt if the quota system was used in subsequent intakes.

But education officials have maintained that the selection formula promoted equity by distributing vacancies in the top schools to both private and public schools.

Public primary schools got 65 per cent of the slots in the 48 national schools while the rest went to private primary schools.

The private schools association has called a crisis meeting on Saturday at the Kenya Institute of Education, Nairobi, to discuss the way forward in light of the new selection formulae.

“The meeting will discuss the future of children studying in private schools countrywide and how investors can supplement secondary school education,” Mr Mwai said.

He described quota system as “a class time-bomb”.