Once again, Lafey sub-county has emerged as the top-performing area in Mandera County, overcoming challenges of terror threats and a limited number of trained teachers.
In the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) results released yesterday, the sub-county produced the highest-scoring candidate, with an outstanding score of 408 marks.
Lafey Primary School, boasting a mean score of 338, celebrated the top student in the entire county, Abdi Majid Mohamed, who achieved a remarkable 408 marks.
Other notable candidates from the same school include Sharmake Adan with 405 marks and Farhan Gedi with 401 marks.
Despite these achievements, the head teacher of Lafey Primary School, Khalif Ahmed, expressed concern about the prevailing high insecurity in the area.
He highlighted the challenges faced by teachers who change sleeping locations every night to avoid potential attacks by Al Shabaab militants from neighbouring Somalia, just 5 kilometres away.
Ahmed emphasized that if all teachers were present, the school could have topped the national rankings.
Furthermore, Ahmed pointed out that, in addition to security concerns, the school is in urgent need of classrooms and more teachers.
Currently, it operates with only 10 teachers for a student population of 1500.
In a recent exodus of teachers, Lafey Primary lost five educators across the entire school.
Parents voiced their sentiments, expressing that the students could have achieved even higher scores if the government addresses the security situation and provides more teachers.
Member of Parliament for Lafey Constituency, Mohamed Abdiker, pledged that his administration would sponsor the education of students in schools of their choice.
The remarkable achievements of Lafey Sub-County in the face of adversity underscore the need for comprehensive efforts to improve both security and educational infrastructure in the region.
By Adan Mohamed
