Top girl in Mandera says terror attacks affected KCSE performance

What you need to know:

  • She said that the 2014 terror attack in which 28 people were killed, most of them teachers who were not from the region, impacted heavily on the education sector in the county.
  • The girl, whose dream career is being a medical doctor, hinted that she is likely to repeat Form Four to attain the required marks, if her score falls below the required mark.

The best female candidate from Mandera County in the 2015 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (Kcse) is not happy with her results.

Fawsia Haji, 19, who scored a B- (minus) of 57 points told the Nation.co.ke at the family'sr home in Mandera town that lack of qualified teachers led to her "bad” performance.

“I have scored marks which I never expected. I dreamt of scoring an A plain. I am not happy,” said Ms Haji, who was a candidate at Moi Girls, Mandera.

She said that the 2014 terror attack in which 28 people were killed, most of them teachers who were not from the region, heavily harmed the education sector in the county.

“Most of our qualified teachers never returned leaving us to struggle on our own with assistance from unqualified teachers which led to my underperforming,” she said.

The girl, whose dream career is being a medical doctor, hinted that she is likely to repeat Form Four to attain the required marks, if her score falls below the required mark.

Her school’s Principal Mr Mohamed Ibrahim said the institution’s mean score had improved.

“We have produced the best girl in the county and improved the school mean score from 4.01 in 2014 to 5.06 in last year’s examination,” Mr Ibrahim said.

He said 17 trained teachers failed to go back to the school citing insecurity but the county government together with the School Board of Management hired untrained teachers to save the situation.

“The school was only left with eight Teachers Service Commission (TSC) employed teachers but all our 189 candidates have performed well despite the acute teacher’s shortage,” said Mr Ibrahim.

The national school had 10 B- (minus), 26 C+, 33 C Plain, 49 C- (minus), 47 D+, 18D (Plain), and 7 D-(minus).

Meanwhile, the county’s top student Mohamed Ahmed Sheikh, 20, scored an A- (minus), attributing his success to hard work and prayer.

The Mandera Boys High School student told the Nation at Bulla Arabia on the outskirts of Mandera town: “I am happy and impressed with the results despite many challenges I have faced both at school and back at home.”

“My father is a Kenya Police Reservist and we are 11 children in this family making it difficult for him to pay my school fees,” he added.

He said that he is determined to find cure for cancerous tumours if admitted at a university to study oncology.

“There many cancer problems in our society that need treatment and I believe it is my time to find a solution,” said Sheikh.

Speaking on phone from Nairobi, Mandera County Education Director Ismael Barrow said he will release comprehensive results on Saturday.