A public primary school in Nakuru County has produced top performers to beat famous private academies in the 2022 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination, whose results were released on Wednesday.
In a stunning performance that has not been witnessed in the past five years in the national examination, Moi primary school produced most of the region’s top candidates in this year’s KCPE as opposed to the previous years where private institutions called the shots in academics.
One of its candidates Sweeny Blessed, who scored 420 marks, ranked among the top 15 nationally. The school had a candidature of 206 with over 25 candidates scoring above 400 marks. Blessed attributed the success to hard work and dedication by both teachers and candidates.
“We are happy about the results. All this is attributed to hard work and dedication by both teachers and candidates,” Blessed said.
Mitchell Jepyegon, who scored 415 marks, said despite the short time they had in preparing for examinations, the results were excellent. “The results are worth the hard work. I am happy that my class made our school proud,” Jepyegon said.
A parent, Paul Ochieng Okuku, stated that Moi Primary School’s achievement is proof that the free primary education programme has come of age. He appealed to the government to equip public schools with facilities and staff as most Kenyans could not afford the cost of education in private schools.
In the results announced by Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu, the top candidate in this year’s Standard Eight examinations scored 431 marks out of 500.
In a departure from tradition, Machogu did not name the top candidates during the official release of the results at Mitihani House in Nairobi.
A total of 9,443 candidates scored 400 marks and above, 307,756 scored between 300 and 399 marks. The CS also announced that 619,593 candidates scored between 200 and 299 marks. 296,336 candidates got between 100 and 199 marks.
A total of 724 candidates scored 99 marks and below.
At Gilgil Hills Academy, Tom Murithi, who scored 428 marks, attributed his success to support from teachers and fellow pupils. Over 30 pupils made it to the 400 mark. “Exams are not really terrifying when one is fully prepared, which we all were, in my class. Hard work pays,” Murithi said.
Murithi, 13, said he hopes to join Alliance Boys High School for his secondary education after which he would like to pursue a degree in Medicine at the University of Nairobi.
The school’s head teacher, Mr Kephas Mwangi said that despite the short preparation period, the candidates performed well. “These candidates understood the assignment and knew what they needed to do. During the examination period, they were all calm and ready. It was a very disciplined class,” Mr Mwangi said.
The school’s director Ms Beth Kanyi said she was elated that this year’s results were a great improvement from last year’s.
“I have noted improvement in this year’s KCPE examination. We are proud as teachers and parents at this school to observe that many candidates who passed the examinations will join secondary school as compared to other years,” said Kanyi.
At Roots Academy Leon Maina said that though he had expected to pass his exams, his excellent performance was unexpected. The 13-year-old who aspires to study Engineering in one of Kenyan Public Universities scored 420 marks and hopes to join Mang’u High School.
He attributed his results to his teachers and supportive parents. “As I thank God for the marks I have scored, I know my parents and teachers played a major role in ensuring I succeeded in my studies and examinations,” he said.
According to the head teacher, Collins Odhiambo, hard work, pupils’ discipline and dedication by teachers yielded impressive results. “We are proud of what we have achieved but there’s a big room for improvement in the coming years. All we need is support by relevant stakeholders,” he said.
The school had over 15 pupils who scored over 400 marks.
By Jane Ngugi and Dennis Rasto
