It was song and dance at Al-Azar Primary School in Garissa county, after the top five candidates scored 400 marks and above, with girls taking three slots in last year’s KCPE exam results that were released on Thursday by Education CS Ezekiel Machogu.
Parents, teachers and pupils joined the top performers in celebrating one of the best results by the private school since its inception in 2006.
Sundus Mahamed Shafi, the top performing girl who scored 407, thanked the teachers and her parents for motivating her and the rest of the candidates in their studies.
“I was expecting over 420 marks but I thank God for the result. I want to be a doctor in future and more so an independent woman who will change the course of women in my society,” she said.
Ridwan Mohamed Abdi, a girl, came in second with 404 and was followed closely by Abdullahi Idris (boy) with 402. Another girl Fardosa Abdikadir scored 400 to tie with Mohamed Yussuf Ahmed with 400.
The top candidate’s father Mohamed Shafi Abdi said his daughter was hard working and was expecting her to score more than 400 marks.
Yustur Farah, a parent at the school, attributed the excellent performance of the school to good working relationship between the parents, teacher and the pupils.
Geoffrey Lunayo a teacher at the school said they worked hard as a school fraternity in preparing the candidates over the years and the results were a manifestation of the same.
He said an enabling environment by the school management also contributed to the excellent performance by the school.
In Mandera, Lafey subcounty emerged as the top performer overcoming challenges of terror threats and a limited number of trained teachers.
The subcounty produced the highest-scoring candidate, with a score of 408 marks.
Lafey Primary School, boasting a mean score of 338, celebrated the top student in the entire county, Abdi Majid Mohamed, who achieved a remarkable 408 marks.
Other notable candidates from the same school include Sharmake Adan with 405 marks and Farhan Gedi with 401 marks.
Despite these achievements, Lafey Primary School head teacher Khalif Ahmed, expressed concern about the prevailing insecurity in the area.
He highlighted the challenges faced by teachers who change sleeping locations every night to avoid potential attacks by Al Shabaab militants from neighbouring Somalia, just 5 kilometres away.
Ahmed noted that if all teachers were present, the school could have topped the national rankings.
He said in addition to security concerns, the school is in urgent need of classrooms and more teachers.
Currently, it operates with only 10 teachers for a student population of 1,500.
In a recent exodus of teachers, Lafey primary lost five educators.
Parents voiced their sentiments saying the students can achieve even higher scores if the government addresses the security situation and provides more teachers.
Lafey MP Mohamed Abdiker said his administration would sponsor the education of students in schools of their choice.
The remarkable achievements of Lafey Subcounty in the face of adversity underscores the need for comprehensive efforts to improve both security and educational infrastructure in the region.