Few students turn up to join Form One in samburu county

Secondary schools in Samburu registered low turnout of students joining form one on the first day of the exercise.
Some schools had received less than five students at 1 pm while others had less than twenty students lining up along the registration office.
However, school heads revealed that most students who were admitted through the ministry’s NEMIS system might not report.
Kirisia boys’ secondary school, a county school in Samburu central received a list of 120 students from the ministry but only twenty had reported by 3pm.
The principal Kennedy Lengoiboni noted that Samburu is a vast county hence most students fail to report on the first day.
“This is a vast county and Maralal is also a sleepy town where most shops do not open over the weekend. Today being a Monday most parents are shopping for their children and you will find them bringing them within the week,” said Lengoiboni.
He added that those expected to report on the first day resided within Samburu central sub county.
At AIC Moi girls, an extra county school expecting 240 students as per the ministry’s list only five students had reported by 3pm.
According to the institutions principal, Alice Gituru, most students are expected to report on 10th and 11th January.
She said the county is also both arid and semi-arid and hence some parents have not been able to download the admission forms to know which schools their children were supposed to join.
“We have been having challenges here every year. We witness very low turnout on the first day,” she said.
However, the teachers noted that extra county secondary schools in the region are likely to register low number of form one students as those called from far flung counties usually decline the admission.
The principals further noted that those in the ministry’s list who will not have reported by the end of the week will be replaced.
By Robert Githu