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‘Big up’ Alliance Deputy tells Matiang’i, grade A ‘ghetto child’ agrees

Matiang’i at the Jomo Kenyatta Primary School Msambweni, Kwale County, doing a spot check of the KCPE exams/CAROL KINUTHIA

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 30 – Education Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i has been hailed for presiding over credible national examinations marking a shift from past exams marred by massive irregularities.

Dr Matiang’i who took over from the current Lands Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi following a cabinet reshuffle by President Uhuru Kenyatta in November last year, has been praised for implementing a  raft of measures geared towards rooting out cartels in the education sector blamed for exam leakages in the past.

Kisumu County Commissioner Mohammed Maalim on Thursday commended Dr Matiang’i for what he described as rewriting Kenya’s education history saying his record was impressive.

“I think we are rewriting history and we want to commend Waziri,” he said adding : “ The national administration (Regional Coordinators and County Commissioners) is part of this credible examination.”

According to Commissioner Maalim whose daughter scored an A (minus), the successful administration of Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results without cases of exam leakages was evidence to strides made by the Ministry of Education and the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) in ensuring the integrity of exams is safeguarded.

This year’s results have elicited mixed reactions from various stakeholders due to a sharp decline recorded in this year’s KCSE results with the number of As having reduced by a whopping 94 per cent to stand at 141 from 2,685 in 2015.

Speaking to Capital FM News on Thursday after the release of KCSE results, Alliance High School Deputy Principal Nicholas Ndege lauded Dr Matiang’i for his impressive performance calling for lowering of cutoff points in order to help candidates enroll to institutions of higher learning and pursue their careers of choice.

“The number of As has greatly reduced and therefore we need to look at the criteria that is going to be used for cutoff points for specific courses,” said Ndege. “A student might have gotten a B and maybe he was an A student and he’s very disappointed – maybe with that B (plus) you can  do medicine and  therefore all is not lost.”

On Thursday, Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi singled out the Alliance Girls High School for posting consistent results, the Alliance High School administration in turn thanked him for delivering a credible exam.

Alliance High School Deputy Principal Nicholas Ndege said Matiangi deserved a ‘big up’ for restoring integrity to the education sector.

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“Big up for them. I will commend the Ministry for doing that and I think that’s something that is quite commendable. It’s something as a country we need to ape. If we can instill integrity in all our institutions, Kenya will definitely be a very well disciplined nation and that is what we’re lacking.”

Among the few who scored a straight A, and from Alliance High School, is 19-year-old Onyango David Ominde who currently resides in the Nyalendo slums of Kisumu.

Ominde whose mother is a fish trader says he hopes to become a neurosurgeon and has thanked all those who assisted his mother put him through school.

“I put a lot of hard work in my studies. I want to encourage student to start their work early enough when they are in Form One,” he said. “No matter where you’re, right now I am a ghetto child yet that did not stop me from making it.”

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