Thika schools have registered exemplary performance in last year’s Kenya Certificate for Secondary Education (KCSE) results, with several getting straight A’s for the first time amid challenges of overpopulation.
Thika High School, which had over 500 candidates, got 4As and 28 A minus, while Thika Girls Secondary School Karibaribi, a County School was the most improved school, got a straight A and several “A” minus’, with almost the same population.
Speaking while celebrating the milestone, Thika High School Principal Julius Muraya decried that the school ought to have performed better were it not for the huge enrolment of students.
He said while they have enough infrastructure to handle the huge number of students, several schools in the area were getting overwhelmed by the population.
He attributed the influx to the huge shortage of schools in the area and called on the national government to consider constructing new schools in the town to deal with the high number of learners.
At Thika Girls Karibaribi, the principal, Faith Wawira, said that despite the school being six years old, it has over 1,000 students, adding that they sometimes get overwhelmed by the huge population.
“Last year, we converted our dining hall into a dormitory and the boardroom into a classroom to address the influx of students. However, we are slowly addressing the issue and hope the government will help in addressing infrastructural challenges in the school,” Wawira said.
The school Board Member Francis Kuria called on the government to consider constructing new schools in the area to reduce the congestion in local schools.
Top performers, led by Thika Boys Clinton Mugama who scored an A, and Thika Girls Karibaribi Elizabeth Wangare, who got an A minus attributed their performance to hard work and dedication.
Wangare an Equity Bank Wings to Fly Scholarship beneficiary looks forward to pursuing Medicine to save lives, after growing up in a humble background and witnessing several people lose their lives due to a lack of affordable treatment.
Nancy Njoki, Wangare’s mother could not hide her joy after her daughter’s performance saying despite the challenges of singlehandedly educating her seven siblings despite not having any stable income, she has hope that her daughter will uplift the family’s fortune in the future.
By Muoki Charles
