This archive report was first published on 3 December 2019.
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has come out to defend the ongoing form one selection exercise, dismissing allegations that it was skewed.
Speaking at the Kenya Primary School Heads Association Annual Delegates Conference in Mombasa on Tuesday, Magoha said the exercise was transparent and all top performing students across the 47 counties were placed in schools of their choice.
He urged parents not to mislead their children and allow them to attend the schools they chose, saying the selection panel did not vet the candidates' three selection choices to award them the best school.
However, Magoha said they respected the candidates' first choice, amid outcry by some parents who claimed that their children had missed placements in their schools of choice.
He also assured the school heads of timely disbursement of their annual capitation and allayed fears that the government was planning to change the capitation ratio of 50 per cent for first term, 30 per cent in the second and 20 per cent for third term.
Magoha's response comes as all learners selected to join national, extra-county and county schools will receive admission letters online, which will be verified by the principal of the admitting school before admission.
