Puzzle of candidate who missed Form 1 slot

Nancy Njoki, 13, was elated when she scored 316 marks in last year's Kenya Certificate of Primary Education Examination (KCPE).

The former St Peter Girls Boarding Primary School pupil was upbeat that the marks would enable her get into a good secondary school.

But up to yesterday, when schools reopened for the first term this year, Njoki had not received her letter of admission nor had her name been captured in the government system for secondary schools placements.

Now her dream of becoming a judge is slowly fading away as her parents move from one government office to another trying to find out where their daughter would attend class in a weeks time.

Since December 9, 2019, Evans Ndung'u, Njoki's father, has been visiting education offices in Molo and Nakuru seeking help. However, his efforts are yet to bear fruit.

Ndung'u says his child is stressed and they as a family is not sure of what to do.

He says he fails to understand how the name of his daughter failed to be captured in the National Education Management Information System (Nemis), a web-based data management solution, which collects data and information.

When the results of Form One selection were released, Ndung'u tried sending details of his child to get admission through Nemis but was told the index number was unavailable.

“Dear customer, selection information is unavailable or index doesn't exist confirm index or check with your Sub-county director for placement,” read a message he received.

He says he has sent the message more than ten times and gets the same response each time. His wife and daughter, he says, also tried sending the same message and got the same response.

Nakuru County Education Director Lawrence Karuntimi said the candidate was supposed to be placed at the sub-county level.

“The matter is being handled, let the parent check with the sub-county director of education,” Mr Karuntimi said