Over 4,000 students in North Eastern fail to report for Form One

Government officials from the North Eastern region today revealed that over 4,000 students have yet to report for Form One admission. In data released by the North Eastern Regional Director for Education, Aden Roble, it was revealed that out of the 26,926 students selected to join secondary schools, only 22,462 Form One students have reported, raising queries on the whereabouts of the missing students.

In Garissa County, only 6,491 students reported out of the 10,120 who were expected to report to their secondary schools, leaving 3,629 students who are yet to report. In Wajir, 99 students were yet to report, and in Mandera, 168 newly admitted students were missing from their secondary schools.

Roble stated that Mandera county was leading in the transition from primary to junior secondary with 99.5 percent, followed by Wajir county at 90 percent, while Garissa county trails at 64 per cent.

He called for committed efforts to ensure the success of the transition from primary to secondary. Following the release of the data on the missing students, North Eastern Regional Commissioner John Otieno called for an urgent meeting with Deputy County Commissioners, Assistant County Commissioners, Chiefs, and Assistant Chiefs to ensure commitments were made to find out why the students had not reported.

He gave out an ultimatum of a week to ensure the students reported to their secondary schools. "Chiefs must comb out in the locations and sub-locations to find out why they were yet to report, and all efforts must be in place to ensure they reported," said the Regional Commissioner.

The Regional Commissioner warned parents against denying their children the opportunity to access education. Otieno stated that the transition from primary to secondary and to junior secondary was mandatory, adding that the government released the capitation funds while other actors were providing scholarships for the success of the 100 per cent transition.