Education Cabinet Secretary (CS), Prof. George Magoha, has said the government’s 100 percent transition policy has registered impressive progress so far.
The CS was speaking in Nyalenda slums in Kisumu County, during the third day of the ongoing nationwide mop-up exercise to transit pupils to join secondary schools.
Magoha exuded confidence in the officials from Education Ministry and Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government for stepping up efforts to achieve 100 percent success in all the 47 counties.
So far, Nyeri County has achieved 102 percent transition while Bomet, Nyamira, and Mandera counties have already hit 100 percent.
Kisii, Nyandarua, and Wajir have managed to absorb over 96 percent of the learners into secondary schools. Other counties in this category also include; Homa Bay, Kirinyaga, Migori, and Kiambu.
The states’ objective is to ensure all the candidates who sat the 2020 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) join Form One.
“One hundred transition was initiated by President Uhuru Kenyatta has been very transformative. I want to ask the public to ignore all those people who are making noise outside,” he said.
According to Magoha, the directive that was issued by President Uhuru Kenyatta on 100 percent transition must be followed. He urged the public to ignore those peddling baseless rumors about the program.
“The government has dispatched officers in various parts of the country to conduct the mop-up exercise,” said the CS, adding that the exercise would go on until every county attains100 percent transition mark.
However, Magoha reported that the performance of the Coastal region was lagging behind with a transition rate between 50 – 70 percent.
The CS directed the Ministry officials to also pursue girls who are expectant in the area and ensure they continue with learning.
In Kisumu, three bright but needy students were rescued from their ramshackle homes in the slums and were enrolled at various secondary schools. They had scored over 350 marks and the Government will fully sponsor them.
In Nakuru County, the Principal Secretary (PS) for University Education and Research, Amb. Simon Nabukwesi led the mop-up exercise by traversing the slums to reach out to students who are yet to report to high school in the area.
Nabukwesi engaged the parents and locals in Nakuru on the importance of education and donated some money to assist a form one student at Tumaini Secondary School who was sent home due to inability to raise Sh 6000.