Elevated national schools fail to impress in KCSE

Josech Opula, a 2014 KCSE candidate at Starehe Boys Centre who scored an A (plain) with 83 points and his father, John Opula. The 18 year old aspires to pursue a course in telecommunications engineering. [PHOTOS: WILBERFORCE NETYA/STANDARD]

NAKURU: A number of national schools in Rift Valley failed to live up to their status after recording a dismal performance in last year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination.

Other top rated schools had their results cancelled over irregularities.

Schools such as Koibeyon, Kiplokyi Central, Simoti Day, Koiwa Boys and Chebilat Boys Secondary schools had little to celebrate after some of their candidates missed out for alleged exam irregularities.

In Bomet County, Kaplong Girls registered a drop in performance after scoring a mean grade of 9.5, a decline from the 9.69 it posted in 2013.

Also sailing in the same boat was Tenwek Boys, which was elevated to national status with a mean score of 9.7, a slight drop from the  9.73 recorded in previous year’s exams.

Other schools that did not perform as expected include Baringo High School, Kabianga Boys and Kipsigis Girls.

Ole Tipis Girls and Kilgoris Boys in Narok county sailed the same ship.

Moi Girls High school in Eldoret slipped slightly compared to the previous year, but still registered impressive results.

As other schools in Baringo County celebrated their results, Churo High School in Taity was engulfed in gloom after its results were cancelled for cheating.

Out of the 44 candidates, 39 of them did not receive their results for Mathematics, one of the core subjects.

But it was not all gloomy as schools such as St Anthony Boys, Kitale, posted impressive results with a mean score of 10.827, beating national schools such as St Josephs Boys’ and St Brigid’s Girls, which attained 10.25 and 10.52 respectively to emerge third overall in Rift Valley.

Students and teachers lead by the school’s Principal Cosmas Nabungolo burst into dance and jubilation to celebrate the remarkable achievement.

Mr Nabungolo said the school had 251 candidates and attributed the improved results to discipline and hard work by both students and teachers. in 2013, the school had a mean score of 10.50.

Local leaders led by Kitale Catholic Bishop Maurice Crowley and Kiminini MP Chris Wamalwa lauded the results.

COMBINED EFFORT

In Nandi County, Kapsabet Girls’ High School came second to Kapsabet Boys’ with a mean score of 10.37, an improvement from the 9.29 scored in previous year’s results.

School Principal Susan Chelanga said the improvement was as a result of hard work.

Meteitei High was the third best school in the county with a mean of 9.8. It was closely followed by Kemeloi Boys with a mean of 9.6 and Samoei Boys, whose mean score was 9.3.

Generally, schools in the region posted improved performance in the 2014 KCSE exam results released on Tuesday by Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi.

Moi High School Kabarak with a mean score of 11.358 did not only shine in the region, but was amongst the best nationally. The school had a mean score of 11.136 in the 2013 examinations.

Chief Principal Henry Kiplagat said 134 students got straight As, 114 A-, 17 B+, 8 B plain and one B- (minus).

“This is the best result the school has ever posted since its inception by former President Daniel Moi,” he said.

Mr Kiplagat said the good result was achieved because of discipline and hard work put in by both students and teachers.

“We ensure that we not only produce the best in academics but also morally upright Kenyans,” he said.

Bahati Girls Secondary, whose performance had slumped in recent years bounced back with a mean score of 10.03, up from the 9.76 it recorded in 2013.

The school’s principal Hilda Murioki attributed the good performance to cooperation from students, teachers and parents.

“The school had dropped in previous performances, but we are happy to be back to where we belong,” Ms Murioki told The Standard.

Molo Academy in Molo sub-county registered a mean score of 10.13 from 10.07 in 2013 KCSE. It had four plain As, 36 A-, 34 B+, 25 Bs and three B-.

Nakuru Boys’ High School with a mean score of 9.744 slightly edged out their neighbours, Nakuru Girls’, which recorded a mean score of 9.72.

Njoro Girls posted an improved mean score of 8.5 from the previous year’s 8.1. Principal Wanjiku Wanderi said dedication and discipline were the reasons for the improvement.