President Uhuru Kenyatta was on Friday elated by the great strides Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i was able to achieve in this year's National Examinations.
In a statement by State House Spokesperson Manoah Esipisu, Mr Kenyatta congratulated Matiang'i and his team stating: "The President commends the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Dr Fred Matiang’i, his colleagues at ICT and Interior, and their teams, the Kenya National Examinations Council, the Teachers Service Commission and other stakeholders for a flawless execution of their mandate".
The Head of State assured Matiang'i that the Government's goal of attaining a 100-percent transition from Primary to Secondary school was still on course.
Kenyatta divulged that following his meeting with the Education CS on Thursday morning, Matiang'i had confirmed to him that the project will be accomplished by 2018.
He urged Matiang'i to continue with his efforts of implementing reforms in the sector assuring him of his support.
“The President encourages CS Matiang’i and other stakeholders to press on with the education reforms, and to continue the stringent measures imposed during the 2016 examinations to ensure gains made are maintained and become the norm,” the statement read in part.
Mr Kenyatta noted that he was pleased with the CS' work adding that “the release of the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education results today confirms that reform of the national examination process has happened and integrity and credibility have been restored.”
The President further pleaded with the CS to ensure that the parity between boys and girls sitting for KCPE exams is rectified in all counties.
"The President is pleased with the achievement of parity between boys and girls sitting KCPE, but notes that some counties still lagged behind in attaining this goal because of practices that undermine education of the girl child. He instructed the Ministry of Education to move to rectify that situation," the statement noted.
Earlier, President Kenyatta had promised his government was determined to ensure that all children in public primary schools transit into public secondary schools without having to drop out due to financial problems.
