New chapter as students report to schools for Form One

A form one student arranges her belongings with her Mother after reporting to Tenwek High school in Bomet Central. [Gilbert Kimutai, Standard]

Schools in Nakuru were a beehive of activity as hundreds of Form One students reported for their first day in secondary school.

Long queues had started forming as early as 6.30am in the schools, with the admission process being temporarily disrupted by rains that hit the town early in the morning.

At Molo Academy, nearly half of the students placed by the Ministry of Education had lined up at the registration desk by 10am.

“The ministry posted 320 students to join Form One at our school. It was shocking to see the parents trickle in as early as 7am to avoid long queues common during the first day. Nearly 150 have already been admitted,” said Molo Academy Principal Paul Gachoka.

Before the end of the day, nearly 200 students had been admitted at Nakuru Girls High School. The school had to look for a public address system to effectively communicate with the parents and students.

“I am happy to see my daughter finally in the school she selected. It has brought much joy to me. We had to leave home at 3am to be in Nakuru at dawn before the queue built up,” said Lucy Kanja, a parent from Meru County.

The school principal Rose Menjo explained that almost half of the students posted there reported on the first day.

Its sister school, Nakuru Boys High School, however, received less students than its capacity with the principal Mike Yator indicating that they were considering further applications made by parents and students.

At the same time, bookshops and uniform centres in the town were also crowded.