Education stakeholders in Isiolo County are out to strategise the means of uplifting the rate of transition to universities, which had remained minimal for a long time compared to other regions in the country.
The stakeholders included development partners, political leaders, educationists, Secondary School Principals and their Board of Management Chairmen and the County government.
Attendants of the forum analysed last year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and resolved to support the education sector in the County to uplift the performance as the 8-4-4 education system comes to an end in 2027 and ensure more students get quality grades that would make them join public universities and enrol in superior courses.
The forum observed that although the County produced 517 candidates who met the University entry qualification out of 1992 who sat the KCSE last year, representing a transition percentage of 26, and being the best ever, a lot of effort was necessary to improve and even double that rate.
The participants resolved that the schools work out methods of eliminating grades E and D and concentrate on attaining quality grades, noting that the County failed to produce a student scoring A and only got three A-s.
Isiolo Women Member of Parliament Ms. Mumina Bonaya, who is an education professional, called upon the Ministry of Education to ensure the area schools were well-staffed and emphasized on monitoring and ascertaining the teachers deliver services that impact on academic performance of their schools.
Ms. Bonaya said learners should be encouraged to take up mathematics, science and technical subjects, as they are very useful in career selection.
She also urged parents to support schools by paying school fees so that the learning institutions could run smoothly.
“I understand there are financial challenges but parents should show interest in paying fees, as the communities should be sensitised on how to benefit from the numerous bursaries available for helping the vulnerable children so that no learner is lost along the way for lack of fee support,” the women MP said.
The legislator said the schools’ board of management should make sure they prioritise and apportion budgets that impact on learning outcomes and not prefer buying buses for their institutions at the expense of putting up laboratories and equipping them.
Isiolo Inter-faith Chairman Sheikh Ahmed Sett said parents and teachers should work hard to instill good values and character in the learners besides getting good grades and end up losing the students to indiscipline and drugs and substance abuse.
“We should do a lot to bring up morally upright students who, apart from performing exemplary academically, may become wrecks in society for lack of good values and character even at places of work,” Sett added.
By David Nduro
