The 9,848 candidates who scored 400 marks and above will on Monday know which high schools they will join in January.
“The firm instruction we have from the President is that by Jamhuri Day, every child must be placed in a school,” CS Matiang'i stated while releasing Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) results.
The Cabinet Secretary further assured Kenyans that placement will be done on merit and no student will be discriminated against.
Government sources claim that public and private schools in the country have reported a total of 1,054,000 places in Form 1 which is to cater for the 993,000 candidates who sat for their KCPE this year.
They have been specifically created to support the Free Day Secondary School programme which begins in January. He also revealed that 19 national schools will have day classes for pilot projects.
[caption caption="Education CS Fred Matiang'i shortly after he arrived for the event on Monday"]
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The selection team has allocated the candidates positions based on a computer program that uses merit as the main criterion.
The government has rolled out the programme that will begin slotting in all the candidates, hoping to achieve a 100 percent transition rate from primary to secondary school.
The function had the CS spelling out measures on how free day secondary education will be implemented. He stated, "The government has increased capitation from the current 12,870 to 22,244 per student."
Dr. Matiang’i and the Basic Education Principal Secretary, Dr. Belion Kipsang’, are believed to have held a meeting on Sunday evening with senior ministry officials to put the final touches to the selection results.
Finally, the Acting CS for Interior has highlighted that each form 1 student will be given 6 textbooks for : English, Kiswahili, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. He wants the parents to hold government accountable for supplying textbooks to schools.
The students are expected to report to their respective schools by January 9.
County Directors of Education, Principals of all national schools, Secondary School Heads Association officials, and key education officials under State agencies were present at the function.
[caption caption="High School students in class"]
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