Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kithure Kindiki has reverted to tactics used by predecessor Fred Matiang’i and former Education boss, the late George Magoha to address low admission numbers in schools.
Speaking in Kilifi County on Wednesday, February 22, Kindiki called on local administrators in six coastal counties to launch a door-to-door campaign to trace school-going children yet to report to school.
This is after a number of Grade Seven pupils and Form One students failed to report to school more than two weeks after schools opened.
“We want all the children to go to school. That is one of the responsibilities cut out for our administrators, including the Deputy County Commissioners, Assistant County Commissioners, Chiefs, and Assistant Chiefs,” Kindiki stated.
He gave the local administrators a two-month time frame to ensure that all students are in class in the line with the government’s 100 per cent transition plan.
The CS revealed that police officers would be deployed to assist with the course and ensure that all students are accounted for.
Local leaders attending the public engagements divulged to Kindiki that a number of students were yet to report because they had been forced into early parenthood.
They particularly pointed out that dance ceremonies hosted during funerals, popularly known as disco matangas, put the learners in vulnerable situations. The CS sounded a warning following the revelation.
“If disco-matanga is all about exposing our young girls to risky indulgences and encouraging teen pregnancies, then it will stop. We must stop it, and we won’t negotiate with anyone on this,” he declared.
In a report by Education Principal Secretary (PS) Belio Kipsang’, he revealed that over 200,000 Grade Seven students had not yet reported to their respective junior secondary schools (JSSs).
While the main reason listed was lack of funds, Dr Kipsang’ revealed that some parents opted to have their children skip a class and register them for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE).
Education CS Ezekiel Machogu maintained that the government had disbursed fees for JSSs. He also cautioned parents against skipping classes in a bid to evade the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) model.
The mop-up exercise was a joint programme by Magoha and Matiang’i who were under express instruction from former President Uhuru Kenyatta to ensur 100 per cent transition from primary to high school.
Magoha was synonymous with visiting slums to fish out students who were domiciled at home and in some cases, offered scholarships to enable them to attend school.
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE