President Uhuru Kenyatta has directed the Ministry of Education to give sponsorship to 9000 candidates in the 2019 KCPE exams, some of who are the best performing.
Speaking during the release of the 2019 national exams at the KNEC Headquarters along Dennis Pritt Road, Education CS George Magoha stated that the government is in collaboration with external stakeholders to fulfil this promise.
“Originally, we had intended to give these scholarships to 30 disadvantaged sub-counties, but in his wisdom this afternoon, the president has directed that part of those 9,000 scholarships must go to the slums,” said Prof George Magoha.
“We shall, therefore, ensure that we get a formula whereby a quarter of them go to the slums in Mombasa, Nyeri, Kisumu, Nairobi and other cities,” he added.
The scholarships are set to be issued to the selected candidates each year.
In addition to scholarships, the government also promised to set aside Ksh 8 Billion for the development of infrastructure in primary and secondary schools.
#KCPE2019: Govt has put aside KSh. 8B to improve infrastructure in schools; govt will provide 9000 scholarships, part allocated to slums ~ CS Magoha. pic.twitter.com/MnICpwyBnh
— NTV Kenya (@ntvkenya) November 18, 2019
This will ensure a smooth transition of all candidates from primary to secondary schools as it will facilitate the expansion of necessary infrastructure.
The education CS also promised all candidates that they will be placed in secondary schools.
The form 1 selection process is set to start immediately after the release of the examination, to be completed by December 2, 2019.
“The government under the leadership of President Uhuru Kenyatta has given us very firm instructions to ensure a fair transparent and quick placement of students to secondary schools,” he noted.
President Uhuru Kenyatta was today briefed by Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha and officials of @ExamsCouncil on the results of this year’s Kenya Certificate of Primary Education national examinations ahead of their release #KCPE2019 | @EduMinKenyapic.twitter.com/OLkfpd2f0c
— State House Kenya (@StateHouseKenya) November 18, 2019
The KCPE registered a total of 527,294 male candidates and 525,070 female candidates countrywide.