Textbooks, leadership credited for impressive KCPE marks

 

Many educators are still baffled that public school KCPE candidates beat their private school counterparts in the 2020 exam. 

Ten out of the top 15 positions were scooped by pupils from public schools. Traditionally the top positions have gone to private school pupils.  

It is a puzzle that has led to a section of the Kenya Private Schools Association calling for a review of the results. 

Some say a very high pass rate, way above the normal, forced a decision to standardise the results.

Mungai Kihinya, a mathematician, suggests that a formula used in moderation of the results reviewed the candidates’ raw marks against the standard deviation.

However, this does not suggest the moderation could have been responsible for the private schools’ misfortune.

The Kenya National Examination Council says no moderation took place.

Chief executive Mercy Karogo says each candidate got the marks they deserved mark.

Education CS George Magoha also read from the same script on Wednesday: 

“It is unfortunate that some people now think that children from public schools cannot do well in their examination,” he said while announcing the end of the KCSE examination in Nairobi. 

Some educators have outlined three reasons to explain the performance of public schools.

One is fee-charging public schools offer better quality education.

In 2003 the government introduced free primary education. It gives Sh1,420 capitation for each learner.

Some stakeholders have blamed FPE for the deteriorating performance in public schools.

However, some public schools have negotiated with parents to pay fees to supplement government capitation.

A parent who sought anonymity said they agreed on an amount during a parent’s meeting at their child's school. They have been paying the fee since 2016.

“This money is used to pay for better services such as employing more board of management teachers,” the parent said.

Nicholas Maiyo, Kenya Parents Association chairman, on Friday said the government policy to provide each learner with all textbooks required has also greatly helped public schools catch up with their private counterparts.

He said the availability of textbooks means that learners can now study even in absence of teachers.

“A lot of learners were struggling to get a textbook to just do their homework but Matiang’i turned that around and this year’s performance could just be the ripple effects of the policy,” Maiyo told the Star.

The World Bank in a 2018 study reported a link between improved performance and adequate provision of textbooks.

Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association chairman Indimuli Kahi and principal of Machakos Boys argues that proper leadership is key to good grades.

He says schools with better headship tend to post better performance, and this could have another reason for the better results.    BY THE STAR