Speaking at Dida after the groundbreaking of 4 classrooms for Dida Secondary school, Ganze MP Teddy Mwambire said in some parts of Kilifi the schools and so children cannot walk long distances at a very young age.
“In Ganze, for example, you will find places where the schools are over five kilometers away. Walking such a distance can be challenging for children who are 5 years and below. This means such children will start school when they are 7 years and above. Definitely, they will complete primary school when their age has advanced,” said Mwambire.
Kilifi County was listed as the county with the highest entry for candidates aged above 19 years. While announcing the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) results on Thursday, Professor Magoga said that Kilifi had 3, 672, followed by Turkana 3, 062, Kwale 2, 441, Busia 1, 692, and Garissa 1680 in the top 5 list.
Mwambire also stated that some schools are forcing students to repeat classes.
“The only way to resolve this problem is to make sure schools are closer to people so that students do not walk long distances to school,” he said adding that more primary schools should be constructed in the county to address the problem of overage students.
Prof Gabriel Katana who is the County Devolution executive and the former CEC for Education said that older students do not participate in class.
“When they don’t get to school at the recommended age they perform other duties like herding animals at home until the parents are convinced they are old enough to walk to school. Because they are older, they tend to feel out of place in class because other students are younger, hence they feel shy,” he said.
Poverty was also blamed with Kilifi county retired education officer Nelson Charo saying that sometimes parents are incapable of providing basic learning items to their children, and therefore decide to let them stay at home.
“The poverty index in this area is high. Parents are sometimes caught between buying food or buying books and paying fees. It is common knowledge that food will be given priority. If we address the poverty problem then everything will fall into shape and our children will go to school at the right age,” he stated.
JOIN OUR TELEGRAM CHANNEL
