Hamdi Abikar from Al Huddah mixed primary school, Mandera, is the first girl ever to clinch top position in the county after scoring 405 marks in KCPE.
Abikar was followed closely by Mohammed Mohammud and Abdi Abdirahman from the same school, who scored 404 and 403 marks respectively, in the KCPE exams released Monday.
The delighted Abikar thanked both her parents and teachers for always guiding her, throughout her primary education cycle.
“I promise that I will not let you down in future,” she assured a cheering crowd.
The school deputy head teacher Kiaka Muley, said parents play a major role in nurturing their children and offering them a conducive learning environment.
Abikar’s achievement comes as a milestone for Northern Eastern region, initially known for male dominance, when it comes to general education matters and even overall exam performance.
On the contrary, majority of local girls have to contend with early marriages and FGM among other deep rooted cultural practices, which make them to either drop out of school or perform poorly in national examinations.
Meanwhile, the County has generally performed better this year, with Mandera DEB topping in North Eastern region as the most improved school.
The school improved from a mean score of 180 in last year’s KCPE to a mean score of 270 in 2021.
By Charles Matacho
