Mixed bag for Nyanza as one school sends all to university

Teachers at Maseno School celebrate English teacher Mercyline Atieno after her subject produced many As. (Denish Ochieng, Standard)

All candidates who sat the 2018 KCSE exam at Orero Boys High School in Homa Bay County have qualified for direct university entry.

Of the 283, two students; Ishmael Okoth Oketch and Odumbe Luckywillis Mwabi scored A plain. Some 36 candidates managed A–, B+ (83),  B (121), B- (38) and  C+ (3).

The school has a mean score of 9.4134.

Principal Dickens Bula attributed the exemplary performance to hard work and determination.

“Early syllabus coverage and hard work are some of the key efforts that enabled my school to get the good results,” said Bula.

Agoro Sare High School emerged second in the county with a mean score of 8.6412. The school produced 340 students for direct entry into universities out of 380 candidates who sat the examination.

Three candidates got A plain. The remaining candidates scored as follows; A– (44), B+ (79),  B (83), B- (84), C+ (46),  C (25), C- (14) and D+ (1).

Principal James Momanyi said the achievement resulted from co-operation between teachers, parents and students.

“I am proud of producing the highest number of candidates who qualified for direct university entry in the county. One of the secrets for success is co-operation,” Momanyi said.

Homa Bay High School scored a mean grade of 7.5, with three candidates scoring A plain and 17 A-.

“We have greatly improved by producing 218 candidates who qualified for direct university entry,” said Principal Vincent Mayienga.

In Asumbi Girls High, there was no straight A, but the national school managed a mean score of 7.856.

Mbita Boys, also a national school, produced three straight As, with a mean score of 7.4. Principal Kennedy Ojijo attributed the good results to discipline and dedication.

In Migori, top school, Kanga High, will be taking 257 candidates scored C+ and above, qualifying for direct university entry.

Schools in Kisii posted mixed results, even as some school heads kept off their schools, leaving only security guards to receive parents and other visitors.

At Kereri High School, a notice signed by the principal had been placed at the gate warning that the offices had been closed until further notice.

At Nduru Boys High School, not even a guard was present. A number of students from the school had been charged at the Ogembo Law Courts for exam malpractices.

At Manianku Secondary School, one student did not receive his English examination result. The school principal, deputy principal, all invigilators and supervisors had been arrested and charged in court for exam irregularities.

The 15 suspects were released on cash and bond terms by the court.

Riokindo Boys maintained its top position in the county for the second year in a row. The school has bounced back to its lost glory when it used to top in the region in the early 90s.

Nyabururu Girls, a national school, got a mean score of 6.2, an improvement from last year’s 5.2.

The performance at Cardinal Otunga, with a mean score of 5.8, reflects the true picture of the struggles the institution has been undergoing in the past few years.

The school’s sponsor, the Kisii Catholic Diocese, had to intervene and have a principal who had been posted there transfered in January, barely after three months.

With a mean of 7.652 and a stunning individual performance, Kisii High School could be on its way back on track.