Coast girl shines as private schools beat public institutions

A girl from Memon Academy in Mombasa was among the top candidates in this year’s Form Four examinations, whose results were released on Friday.

Suaad Mohammed Zabeir Kadernani, 18, from Memon Academy in Mombasa scored A plain of 81 points. She is among the 315 candidates who obtained grade A nationally.

Compared to last year, there was a decline of performance in most Coast schools.

Pupils, teachers and parents at the Coast had little to celebrate after the release of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams results. In Mombasa, Suaad was upbeat.

FLYING COLOURS

“I did not expect to get an A but I just knew that I would pass. I have passed with flying colours. I thank God,” Suaad said. “I would like to thank my parents, teachers and fellow students for the support they gave me. But I prayed and worked very hard”.

Her dream is to become an architect and study at the University of Nairobi.

Suaad’s father, Mohammed Zubeir, a businessman, joined the school management in celebrating his daughter’s performance.

The happy father said his joy was similar to that he felt in 2015 when Suaad’s sister, Zulfa Mohammed, topped in the region in her KCSE with an A plain. Memon had 102 candidates who performed well in the exams.

THREE GIRLS

At Abu Hureira Academy, three girls scored A- (minus), emerging as the best in the institution. They were Shahla Mohamed Khalid, Nasra Adan Sheikh and Suad Abdalla Shebe.

Khalid attained 80 aggregate points while Shebe and Nasra, who both want to pursue medicine, 79.

“I aspire to be a doctor and give back to the society. It was a tough race but I managed through God’s grace and hard work,” said Khalid.

In Taita Taveta County, the best candidate at Murray Girls High School scored a B+ (plus). Marion Maua emerged the top with 71 points. She was followed by Naomi Kaingu with a B+ (plus) of 69 points. According to their teachers, the two candidates always recorded good performance in examinations.

At Memon, the best boy was Mohamed Hamza Kadernani with an A- (minus) of 79 points. Others who performed well were Walid Mohamed and Ahmed Shenga, both with A- (minus) as well.

TOP STUDENT

Faiz Farid emerged as the top student at Istiqama Academy with an A- (minus) of 75 points. “The result is beyond my expectation,” he told the Nation. “I thank God for the good performance. I also want to thank my parents and teachers,” says Farid, who hopes to pursue medicine at the University of Nairobi. At Qubaa Muslim School in Mombasa, a private school, Said Salim Omar was the best student with an A- (minus) of 75 points. He hopes to be an engineer.

Omar said he was sure of good results but did not expect to score an A- (minus).

“I am very grateful for those who supported me,” he said as his parents, teachers and colleagues cheered him.

He attributed his good performance to hard work, discipline and the fear of God.

DISCIPLINED STUDENT

The school’s principal, Mr Leonard Mbalu, said the student is disciplined and well-behaved. According to him, the school also registered an improvement in this year’s KCSE after eight students scored B+ (plus).

Kwale Boys High School produced top three students in the county. James Kalume scored A- (minus) of 78 points. He was closely followed by Kome Erastus with A- (minus) of 76 points and Tsuma Said Bagala who attained an A- (minus) of 74 points.

The principal, Mr Mike Mutua, said the school had a total of 363 students.

Reported by Cece Siago, Winnie Atieno, Brian Ocharo, Fadhili Fredrick and Lucy Mkanyika.