In the 1990s, Kenyatta and Ribe Boys, Mama Ngina Girls and Matuga Girls High Schools were the top secondary education institutions in Coast region.
Getting a slot at the national schools was an uphill task. But in 2000 when politicians began interfering with admissions, their performance dwindled with the institutions forced to admit Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) candidates who had scored less than the entry marks.
The government’s 100 percent transition policy also affected the schools’ performance as students with lower marks were also admitted amid a high student-teacher ratio.
But for the first time in years, the national schools that were sleeping giants have reawakened based on the 2021 and 2020 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam results.
The principals attributed their success to teamwork, hard work, motivational talks, collaboration with education stakeholders and improved infrastructure.
“We had to put in a lot of effort [to get the good] results,” said Kenyatta High School Chief Principal David Kagutha. The school produced the best KCSE candidate in the region. It posted five A plains, 12 A- (minus), and 29 B+ (plus). However, its mean grade dropped from 8.0 to 7.6.
At Mama Ngina Girls High School in Mombasa, the principal, Mwanahamisi Omar, said their biggest secret was teamwork. In 12 years, the school had not posted a plain A.
In the 2021 results, the institution got a mean of 8.01 with 160 girls attaining a mean of C+ and above compared to 7.41 in 2020 where 114 girls had a mean of C+ and above.
Ribe Boys Chief Principal Benson Manoha said an enabling environment for learning, improvement of infrastructure, teacher and students motivation boosted the performance.
“We were the sleeping giants but we have reawakened. We have a population of 1,100 students and 52 teachers, we take students with 366 to 412 marks in their KCPE,” said Mr Manoha.
Additional reporting by Wachira Mwangi, Siago Cece and Lucy Mkanyika
