Jomvu Member of Parliament Badi Twalib has proposed the introduction of private examination centres to improve schools’ mean grades in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) often affected by absent candidates.
Twalib said absenteeism lowered the mean grades of schools in the constituency despite efforts from hardworking students.
He was speaking during the celebration of the sterling performance in KCSE of the first cohort of secondary students sponsored under the National Government-Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF).
He said absenteeism was the main cause of poor performance in most schools in that students registered for KCSE and absconded classes only to re-appear to sit for the national examinations.
The MP urged parents to ensure their children attended classes so as not to affect the overall performance of the schools in the region.
He cited disparity at Kajembe High School where the top student attained a B (minus) while followed by 43 D (minuses) and 50 Es, which derailed the school’s overall performance.
“I announce boldly, as a legislator, that we have a plan to start private centres. If your child does not want to study he must not pull others backwards, “he said.
The MP vowed to visit all the schools for consultative meetings with parents to ascertain the root cause of the problem.
The secondary scholarship programme, initiated in 2021, targeting students from vulnerable families, has yielded fruits as the first cohort, who sat at the KCSE in 2024, performed well with a 95 per cent transition to university.
The legislator said most of the parent’s income is hand-to-mouth and were unable to pay for their children's secondary education fees.
“We have been able to sponsor them in secondary education as they transition to University we will not leave them as long as we are in leadership. We will ensure they fulfil their career objectives,” the MP said.
The MP is banking on the students to churn out professionals who will be assisting society.
“The next batch will have 40 students and we expect them too to excel. I have been monitoring them for the four years they were in secondary school,” he said.
The MP was impressed by an increase in the number of students transiting to university in all the secondary schools.
“We do progress, we don't retrogress,” Twalib said while lauding teachers and parents for their concerted efforts.
