A signpost of Lodwar Boys High School. Since 2015 the school has never produced an A plain.
As national schools across the country celebrate remarkable results in the just released 2024 KCSE by producing straight Grade As, Turkana County has yet to record one since 2015.
The last student to score a mean grade of A was Samwel Nakata of Lodwar Boys High School, who registered an A plain of 82 points.
Ever since, Grade A has remained elusive, despite emerging schools such as Katilu Boys Secondary School in Turkana South and little-known Destiny Boys High School, a private school in Turkana North, outshining academic giants Lodwar Boys and Turkana Girls.
Lodwar Boys has, according to Principal Patrick Lokwayen, suffered from insecurity-related challenges.
"All of us are aware that Lodwar Boys is a national school. Most of the students whom the national government recommends to be admitted to this school are from other countries. They don't report due to issues of insecurity along the Kapenguria - Lokichar road," Mr Lokwayen said on Sunday.
He said that they are not performing well because they don't admit the required quality of students.
He noted that they have been admitting students whose grades in Standard Eight national exams are equal to those admitted to local schools.
National school
"That is why we are a national school but we are not competitive because the entry behaviour of students that we receive is below the expectations of a national school,” he said.
He said that every year, he would expect to admit students with 390 but never get them.
"Eighty percent of the students the government recommends to be admitted in this national school with 390 marks and above in KCPE don't report. As an administrator, I recommend that parents bring other students with as low as 270 marks in KCPE," the principal said.
Besides admitting such students, he said they established that the boys are not good at languages.
"A student can get Grade As in all subjects except languages. A Grade B plain or B+ in English will make him get a mean grade of A- that has been our best grade since 2015," he explained.
He is, however, happy that the school has never been linked to examination malpractices with boys with as low as 280 marks getting Grade B+.
"We are happy because we add value to boys with fewer marks. Some are getting A- and B+ in a national school. Based on the 2024 KCSE examinations we will send 107 to university out of 216 as we encourage those who got C plain and below to go to tertiary institutions. We are also happy that all our candidates got their genuine results," Mr Lokwayen said.
The school which recorded 2A-, 10 B+, 15B, 31B-, 49 C+, 52C, 35C-, 15D+, and 5D had a mean score of 6.5888 and is now planning to bank on the new education system to revive its lost glory.
The principal said that his boys who are poor in languages will now choose between the two languages.
"A candidate has an opportunity to excel as when grading, one language subject will be picked for the best seven subjects,” the principal said.
Mr Lokwayen, however, allayed fears that political interference and lack of school fees were among the factors contributing to poor results.
"School fees are not an issue when it comes to performance because most of the boys are locals who after KCSE leave with a lot of fee arrears. No politician has ever coerced me to admit students. They request admission just like any other parent,” he said.
Top candidates at Turkana Girls National School have also been recording A-s, with Principal Sister Florence Nabwire calling on the media to highlight the challenges they are experiencing.
Anxiety
At AIC Song'ot Boys Secondary School in Turkana West Constituency, Gathoth Lul Lok scored an A- with results from Katilu Boys Secondary being withheld.
The situation has created a lot of anxiety among candidates, parents, teachers, and leaders.
It is, however, expected that the ongoing Operation Maliza Uhalifu, where police officers and Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) tackling banditry in a multiagency effort has stabilized security, will boost the confidence of parents to bring their children to this school.
Turkana Professional Association Chairman Jackson Nakusa said that poor performance by top schools in the county was a matter of great concern that all stakeholders must be worried about.
"As professionals, besides our programmes that include mentorship and lobbying for improved infrastructure, we need to establish the factors that are contributing to sustained poor grades," Mr Nakusa said.
Lodwar Boys High School students celebrate in Lodwar town to celebrate 2As in the 2014 KCSE examinations.
He, however, called on those who didn't manage to get grades that would assure them a direct entry to university to enroll in technical training institutes and colleges.
Some residents have registered their frustrations over poor results and questioned why the county doesn't produce As.
Mr Brandon Kerio faulted principals in Turkana County claiming they have failed to deliver as administrators.
"You mean you want students with over 400 marks to do your job? As the principal, it’s your responsibility to turn those with 270 marks into top performers. You’ve failed!" Mr Kerio said.
He argued that banditry existed before 2015 when the county was producing straight As, and therefore insecurity cannot be an excuse.
Another resident, Robert Ewoton said that as a national school, Lodwar Boys has all the resources and facilities at its disposal.
Poor results
"School management should just do its work as it should be. The excuses the principal has given for poor results show that he has admitted his failure. He should just vacate the office," Mr Ewoton said, adding that it was high time that the school got a principal who is a non-local.
Education official Johnston Kitoi told Katilu Boys school parents that they are in touch with the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) and the full report will be out in 30 days.
"Political leaders who invest through bursaries and scholarships are also worried about the results and I want to assure them that everything is under control," Mr Kitoi said.
Turkana Senator James Lomenen said that he is a parent and an ex officio at Katilu Boys School and during examinations there were Knec representatives who visited the school and ensured that the examinations continued.
"If during examination there were Knec officials who visited the school for inspection. Why are the results withheld?" Mr Lomenen asked.
The sustained poor performance in KCSE in 2020 has previously caught the attention of elected leaders, led by former Governor Josphat Nanok, after it was established that only 227 candidates out of 8,000 who sat for KCSE in 2019 would proceed to university.
"My administration hires all the time and at the moment we can't get qualified and highly competitive engineers or specialized doctors from Turkana because few of our students are joining university. As leaders and all relevant stakeholders we must meet urgently to unravel this crisis," Mr Nanok said then.
Instead of the two national schools reclaiming their lost glory, county and extra-county secondary schools are outshining them.
The county government in partnership with the USAID Nawiri-funded Ujuzi Mashinani Programme targets school dropouts and those who have never gone to school to enroll at technical institutions to train them in employability skills.
The skills trained range from masonry, tailoring, boat making, phone repair, and motorbike repair.
