Parents’ fury after 96 miss Form One slots

Parents in Kisumu County have protested after 96 KCPE candidates were left out of the just-concluded Form One selection.

The candidates of Kibos Prison Primary School will not be joining secondary schools on February 3 after the school’s code disappeared from the computer tabulating system.

The code enables the selection panel to shortlist qualified candidates.

Out of the 96 candidates who sat the KCPE exam last year, 14 scored 400 marks, hence stood a chance of joining national schools.

Unfortunately, none of them will be going to any of the top schools due to the alleged computer glitch.

‘‘Parents have been flocking to the school to collect admission letters for their children since last week but we have nothing to give,’’ said the head teacher who declined to be named.

He said he was warned by the Education Ministry against speaking to the media on the matter.

One aggrieved parent, Mr Newton Oketch, said they will sue Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi next week if nothing is done to ensure all the candidates secure Form One places in national and county secondary schools.

‘‘We are in the process of filing a case as we believe the rights of our children have been violated,’’ said Mr Oketch.

He added that they visited the education offices but were told to check with secondary schools if they still had places as the Form One selection had ended.

The public school emerged fourth best in Kisumu with a mean grade of 299.

Kenya National Union of Teachers Kisumu East chairman Joshua Ogallo promised to join the parents in suing the Ministry of Education for failing to check on the anomalies in the selection. ‘‘It is unfortunate that 96 candidates cannot go to schools of their choice because of a computer error,’’ said Mr Ogallo.

Kisumu East district education officer Thomas Odhiambo said the parents had no option but to look for other schools for their children.