KCPE 2020 - Why Public Schools Performed Well Than Private Schools.
Educators have outlined three reasons that pushed public schools to perform better than their private counterparts.
They suggest that fee-charging public schools secured an edge in his year's exams as the learners get better quality education.
A major shift was recorded in the performance of the top students with public schools posting stunning performance in the 2020 KCPE after scooping 10 of the 15 top performers countrywide.
Traditionally, private schools have dominated while public schools have over the years been characterized by poor performance.
The development has opened a puzzle as to why and what brought about the shift.
Since 2003, the government has been providing tuition capitation of Sh1420 to each learner hence no cost attending a public school.
This has also been linked, by various stakeholders to deteriorating performance in the institutions.
However, a handful of public schools through negotiations with parents have reviewed this over the years to have parents chip in fees.
Analysis by the Star shows that Chogoria Girls Primary school that produced the second student nationally, Maseno Girls Boarding Primary School, St Mathew's Septonok, and Nairobi Primary School pay fees despite being public schools.
Leaners at Maseno Girls Boarding Primary School for example ranges at Sh10,000 each year that is paid directly to the school.
The amount is used to complement the capitation sent to the school by the government.
Parents at Nairobi Primary School, a day school, also have an arrangement where they are required to pay up to Sh5000 for fees.
According to a parent, who sought anonymity, the amount was agreed through a parents meeting and has been there since 2016.
“This money is used to pay for better services such as employing more board of management teachers and paying them,” the parent said.
Nicholas Maiyo, the Kenya Parents Association chairman, on Friday, argued that apart from fee-charging, the government policy to provide each learner with all textbooks required has greatly helped public schools catch up with their private counterparts.
Maiyo said the availability of textbooks means that the learners can now learn even in absence of teachers.
“A lot of learners were struggling to get a textbook to just do their homework but Matiang’i turned that around and this year’s performance could just be the ripple effects of the policy,” Maiyo told the Star.
The World Bank in a 2018 study reported that there is a link between improved performance and adequate provision of textbooks.
Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association chairman Indimuli Kahi and principal of Machakos Boys on his part argue that proper institutional leadership is
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