Education in a sorry state, says Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero

By Margaret Kanini and Anjellah Owino

Nairobi, Kenya: Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero has decried the poor performance of candidates in national examinations and now wants the issues affecting performance addressed.

Dr Kidero said the Nairobi County performance in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) has been declining over the years yet most schools have better facilities than schools in other counties.

“Performance in KCPE by public schools has been on the decline since 2003. It is only last year, there was an improvement of six points, which was still below the performance attained in 2003,” Kidero said.

In a meeting between teachers, parents, and Government officials, Kidero said the increase in the city’s population had strained the learning facilities in schools, affecting pupil’s performance.

Nairobi County was ranked seventh out of the 47 counties in the country and the governor now wants the county to lead other counties in the coming national examinations.

“Nairobi County has the lowest transition rate in the country that currently stands at about 52 per cent compared to the national rate of 78 per cent. This is a very uncomfortable situation that calls for a conscientious and deliberate plan that must be executed urgently,” said Kidero.

He said that strained facilities were responsible for the poor performance of public schools in national examinations adding that the quality of education in public schools in the region is in a very sorry state.