Anthony Mwangi and Wangui Githugo @PeopleDailyKe
Form One selection kicks off today, a week after the release of the Kenya Certificate for Primary Education (KCPE) examination results.
According to a circular from the Ministry of Education, the launch of the 2017 selection exercise will take place today at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) at 8 am and will be presided over by Cabinet secretary Fred Matiang’i.
Unlike previous years when the selection was conducted in January after the release of the exams in December, now those set to join secondary schools will not have the luxury of an extended holiday until February as has been the norm even as the ministry continues to effect immense developments in the sector.
“Please note that the reporting date for Form One still remains 9th January, 2017,” read part of the circular signed by Education Principal secretary Dr Belio Kipsang’.
Form One selection has in the past been shrouded in controversies, with complaints of favouritism and corruption in the way the students are picked. Matiang’i said last week that candidates who scored 400 marks and above will be admitted to national schools irrespective of their gender, region or centre, meaning that at least 5,143 out of 942,021 candidates who sat the KCPE exams will join the 103 national schools.
He said out of 925,744 students who sat the 2016 KCPE examination, 759,603 will join the available slots in the secondary schools while the rest will join youth polytechnics. “My ministry is alive to the fact that 18 per cent of the candidates may not be placed in secondary schools,” he said.
Kipsang said students would be able to know the school they have been picked to join instantly by use of an SMS number to be made public soon. Selection at county and sub-county levels will also start on Monday and end on Tuesday.
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