Approximately 4,000 students who were selected to join Form One in the Northeastern Region, are yet to report for admission, thus government officials raise concerns on their whereabouts.
According to data presented by Northeastern Regional Director of Education, Aden Roble, out of the 26,926 students selected to join secondary schools in the region, only 22,462 students have reported for admission this term.
Garissa County is the most affected County where only 6,491 students out of the 10,120 have reported to secondary schools, leaving over 4,000 students who are yet to report.
In Wajir County, only 99 students are yet to report to Form One, while in Mandera, 13 students have joined vocational colleges and only 168 are yet to join Form One.
The transition from primary to junior secondary school in the region is at 83.4 percent, with Mandera leading with 99.5 percent, Wajir at 90 percent and Garissa is trailing at 64 percent.
In light of the information, Northeastern Regional Commissioner (RC), John Otieno, called a meeting with County Commissioners, Deputy County Commissioners, Assistant County Commissioners, Chiefs and their Assistants in Garissa, to address the matter and make sure that the students report to school.
Otieno further directed Chiefs and their Assistants, to ensure that all the students who have not reported to school do so within one week.
“Today, we are going to launch a mop-up exercise to make sure that the students or the pupils who are still at home go to school. We cannot have a situation where over 40 percent of those who are supposed to be in school, are still at home,” Otieno said.
“The Chiefs and their Assistants will be providing daily data on the number of pupils and students who have been mopped-up and have been taken to school, so that within one week we ensure 100 percent transition for both Form One and grade 7,” he added.
Otieno said there is no reason to deny a child an opportunity to go to school and called on Chiefs to always account for the number of school-going children in their areas of jurisdiction.
“The Government has released the capitation for all students to schools, so we do not want to hear any stories of certain levies being demanded by the respective schools that deter children from going to school,” the RC said.
The Northeastern Regional Director of Education, Aden Roble, who was also in the meeting, said it was bad to see schools without pupils whereas in the villages, tens of them were loitering doing nothing.
He urged the parents in the region to allow the students to attend both their ‘Duksi’ classes and the normal education concurrently.
“For Grade 7, it is going to the next class in the same school. We don’t know where these pupils are but with the help of the Chiefs, we will find them and take them to school,” Roble said.
By Erick Kyalo
