Education: Hefty investment required to realize 100 pc. primary-secondary transition

By Douglas Namale:

In 2018, President Uhuru Kenyatta launched a 100% transition from primary to secondary school. His announcement was lauded by education pundits, terming it a pat to realizing the gains of Article 43 (1) (a) of the Constitution 2010.

On 20/01/2020, Education Cabinet Secretary George Albert Omore Magoha released a report indicating 40% of 2019 KCPE graduates were yet to join secondary school. Magoha then launched a door-to-door campaign in Kibera tracing yet to join high school students, in an effort to actualize 100% primary-secondary transition decree.

Magoha’s efforts led him to Josephine Ekongo’s house, one of the 40% students yet to join high school.  He succeeded to accompany Josephine and her father to Karen C Secondary School. The principal of the school was at pains to admit Josephine unconditionally.

Josephine’s father, a middle-aged jobless man from Kibera was ecstatic for his daughter’s miracle. He narrated his daily struggles to make the ends meet. The middle-aged man couldn’t imagine raising Ksh. 15 000 for school uniform, and other assorted regalia totaling to Ksh. 30 000, as a prerequisite for his daughter’s admission.

Naomi Kwamboka, and her sister Damaris Moraa spent a night at Central Police Station in Nakuru, not because they were fugitives, they couldn’t afford a place to sleep. The two sisters had borrowed Ksh.3000 bus fare, to travel from Bobasi, Kisii County to secure a place at AIC Morop Girls High School, in Rongai, a small town in the outskirts of Nakuru town. They were turned away. Kwamboka contemplated suicide, after imagining her dream had been dashed by an insensitive principal.

Florence Arama, the wife to Nakuru West MP came to Kwamboka’s rescue; she offered the girl a one-year scholarship. AIC Morop Girls High School principal Susan Wachira, confirmed turning away Kwamboka for failing to meet the school admission prerequisite; uniform and assorted regalia totaling to Ksh. 25 000.

Victor James, a partial orphan from Rongo, Migori County has opted to repeat class eight due to lack of school fees. The boy secured a space at Kangeso Secondary School after scoring 372 marks in his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) in 2019. The boy’s indigent grandmother couldn’t raise school fees.  James is still hopeful, a well-wisher will knock their door and salvage his dwindling desire to education.

In recent weeks, we have witnessed a barrage of penniless pupils, presenting awful tells why they are yet to join secondary school. Despite Magoha’s assertions “no child should be turn-away from school”, president’s decree, “every child should be in school, and anyone flouting the decree should meet the full force of the law”.

More than 200 000 KCPE graduates didn’t transition to secondary school in 2019. The failure was attributed to poverty and ignorance. In 2020, the figure has increased to over 400 000.

Magoha’s door-to-door campaigns is just a chubby exercise, it’s not the solution why thousands of children aren’t transitioning to secondary school. A part from streamlining different bursaries to reach the most deserving, the Ministry of Education should come up with a social education fund, to deal with the raising number of indigent children in the country.