Private schools' directors from Kisii county have praised the Education, Science and Technology Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Fred Matiang'i for ensuring equity in the selection for 2015 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education(KCPE) candidates joining form one this year.
Led by the Director of Elimu Academy in Kisii town and her counterpart from Precious Hope School in Kisii South Sub-County Samwel Mirieri, they said that for the first time there was equity in the selection of form one candidates joining national schools.
Speaking at Elimu Academy on Thursday evening during the school's celebrations and thanks giving day for posting good results in the 2015 KCPE examination results, Mrs. Kombo commended the CS for ensuring candidates from private academies who had been previously discriminated over the sharing out of admission slots to national schools secured places in national schools of their choice.
"We are grateful to the Education, Science and Technology CS for ensuring all candidates who scored above 400 marks in last year's KCPE examinations were selected to join national schools of their choice without being looked at from the perspective of coming from either private or public schools," stated Mrs. Kombo.
Mrs. Kombo argued that contrary to the widespread public perception that private schools are for the rich and elites in the society, the schools accommodated children from diverse family backgrounds and they even sponsor children from poor family backgrounds as part of the efforts of giving back to the society.
Mirieri lauded Matiang'i saying it was historical in the country's form one selection in which children with over 400 marks were selected to join national schools without bias over which school they sat their KCPE examinations from as it has been happening in the past where children from public schools enjoyed first priority in national schools admissions.