State must do more to ensure 100pc transition

Form One students during their admission to Kakamega High School last week. [Benjamin Sakwa, Standard]

As part of efforts to ensure that all candidates who sat KCPE examinations last year transition to Form One, the government should take a long, hard look at the problems some pupils could be facing at home.

The admission of students was slated to take place between January 13 and 17. However, the Ministry of Education released a circular stating that in order to ensure that no learner is left behind, the reporting deadline had been extended by seven days to this Friday.

While the move is noble, the government should do more especially when it comes to catering for the financial needs of poor learners who passed their exams but cannot raise the required school fees.

Out of 38,000 students who applied for scholarships being offered by a local bank, only 9,000 were successful. Is anybody asking what will happen to the other 29,000 students? Where are they expected to get money for tuition?

The government should come up with innovative ways of reaching out to such students and help them.

It’s not easy to join Form One when your school requirements total upwards of Sh50,000 and you have not paid a dime in fees.

The government plans to disburse Sh8 billion for infrastructure development in schools yet it has not set aside money for fees.

There is also the thorny problem of learners' safety. There are children and parents who are suffering in silence because they do not know what to do after the learners were admitted to schools in regions where insecurity is rife.

There can be pivotal changes in the education system if the government stretches out its hand to the needy students and takes time to assess the problems that most of them may be facing. 

Mercy Nekesa, Nairobi