School managements and parents from private schools have applauded the national government through the Ministry of education for doing away with exams fees in those institutions. While celebrating excellent results posted by this year’s candidates, the head teacher at Hill school in Kakamega county Mr. Tsuma Washington applauded the move saying it gives parents and students an ample time to take care of the other needs besides assuring equality in both private and public institutions.
Tsuma says that the idea of maintaining the fees had not been taken kindly by both students and management of private institutions for it showed that they had been sidelined. Tsuma said that all the candidates are Kenyans and tax payers and thus needed to be treated equally.
This was echoed by a number of parents and candidates who sat the exam. Prince Daniel Simiyu a candidate at Hill school in Kakamega who scored 411 marks in this year’s KCPE exams said that he was glad about the move but also wanted pupils from private schools to be given an equal opportunity during the Form one school selections, especially in the national school slots.
Simiyu who was not very happy with the results said that he is afraid that his dream of joining Alliance Boys High school may be shattered if equal opportunities will not be accorded.
He had hoped to top the county and Kenya as a whole and was thus a bit disappointed by the results. He still was thankful to God for the had score he has, hoping he will still join his dream school and have a successful future.
He said that the idea of sidelining private schools is discouraging and thus the reason why most parents and candidates always opt to register exams in public institutions despite learning in private ones.
His parents’ Wandabi Barasa and Felistas Okumu echoed his sentiments saying that it has always been a nightmare for parents with candidates from private schools when it comes to school selection.
Wandabi says that most candidates in private schools end up missing slots in national schools despite their tremendous performance in exams.
He added that in most cases students end up performing poorly once they are forced to join schools they did not want to.
Simiyu’s mother Felistas Pauline Okumu Barasa who attributed her son’s success to prayer and hard work was hopeful that her last born would make it to Alliance and attain his dream of becoming a neurosurgeon.
The mother who refers to his son as a blessing reveals that Simiyu has been full of blessings since he was born. She says that at the time of his birth, Simiyu was the only baby boy among 23 girls who were born in that hospital.