Poor infrastructure blamed for low school grades in Marsabit

Education stakeholders in Marsabit County have blamed poor infrastructure in primary and secondary schools for the dismal performance in national examinations.

Speaking at Moi Girls Secondary School in Saku, the stakeholders proposed various modalities of addressing the poor performance in the county.

Saku MP Dido Rasso decried the continued deteriorating performance even among some of the renowned public schools which earlier produced some of the prominent persons in the region.

“We ought to ask ourselves why the schools in this county have been posting poor results in the national examinations over the years,” Mr Rasso said.

PLEA TO TEACHERS

The MP called on the teachers across the county to up their game and come up with new techniques of making their students have interest in mathematics and science subjects.

The lawmaker also challenged parents, most of whom are pastoralists, to begin embracing changes that come with modernisation.

He said that the residents have remained behind for a long time due to their conservative pastoralist lifestyle.

Mr Rasso further pointed out gross understaffing and lack of sufficient motivation for the teachers as the major contributory factors to the dismal performance.

CONFLICT ZONES

Marsabit Central Deputy Education Director Francis Lotamu noted that some poor results were posted in zones where conflicts have disrupted learning.

Inadequate investment in public schools is the main contributor to the perennial dismal performance by public schools in national examinations, he added.

Mr Lotamu also cited lack of cooperation between teachers and parents as another cause of poor performance.

Also to blame was the retrogressive cultural practices such as female circumcision, beading and child marriages which he said contribute to high school dropout rates in the region.

PARENTS BLAMED

Saku Deputy Education Director Safina Mohammed on her part blamed parents for not valuing education.

She wondered why most of the parents prefer taking their children to schools outside the county when there are good institutions in the region.

Ms Mohammed expressed her disappointment, saying that out of 1,000 candidates who sat KCPE exams in 2019 in the sub-county, only 30 secured places in public secondary schools.

“It’s so shameful that parents in this county withdraw their children from school and buy them motorcycles to venture into bodaboda business,” Ms Mohammed said.

She also blamed the surge in the number of students who drop out of school to the bodaboda business.