Gender parity nearly achieved in 2013 test

Elizabeth Atieno (left) and Cynthia Nyaranda from Tender Care Junior Academy-Komarock in their school compound after the 2013 KCPE results were announced with both emerging number five and eight respectively in the girls category. Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi said that gender was nearly achieved in the 2013 KCPE exams. PHOTO/DENISH OCHIENG  NATION

In Summary

• Of the 839,759 pupils who sat the examination, 413,396 (49.23 per cent) were girls, up from 396,310 (48.81 pc) in 2012.
• The minister said 18 out of 47 counties had more girls than boys sitting the KCPE exam.
• They are Meru, Nyeri, Kiambu, Embu, Kitui, Uasin Gichu, Kericho, Nairobi, Vihiga, Nandi, Bungoma, Kirinyaga, Machakos, Makueni, Tharaka Nithi, Trans Nzoia, Kakamega and Nyandarua.

By LUCAS BARASA
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Gender parity was nearly achieved in last year’s KCPE exams, Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi has said.

Of the 839,759 pupils who sat the examination, 413,396 (49.23 per cent) were girls, up from 396,310 (48.81 pc) in 2012.

This represented an increase of 17,080 girls.

Some 426,369 boys (50.77 pc) sat the exam, up from 415,620 in 2012.

“Considering that 413,390 girls compared to 426,369 boys took the 2013 KCPE examination, the gender parity now stands at 49.2 per cent girls: 50.8 per cent boys, which is the closest we have been towards achieving gender parity in the KCPE examination,” Prof Kaimenyi said.

The minister said 18 out of 47 counties had more girls than boys sitting the KCPE exam.

They are Meru, Nyeri, Kiambu, Embu, Kitui, Uasin Gichu, Kericho, Nairobi, Vihiga, Nandi, Bungoma, Kirinyaga, Machakos, Makueni, Tharaka Nithi, Trans Nzoia, Kakamega and Nyandarua.

Prof Kaimenyi said it was a worrying trend for more girls than boys to sit the examination in some counties “as we do not wish to reach a situation where the gender disparity against the boy child becomes a national concern.”

He directed county directors of education to investigate why more girls than boys were sitting KCPE exams in the 18 counties for corrective action.

The Cabinet Secretary also expressed concern that the ratio of girls who sat the exams in Tana River, Marsabit, Isiolo, Samburu, West Pokot, Narok, Migori, Garissa, Wajir and Mandera were lower than that of boys.

The gender parity gap in Garissa and Mandera was largest in 2013, at 68.5 per cent boys against 31.5 per cent girls and 70 per cent boys against 30 per cent girls respectively.

Prof Kaimenyi directed education officials in the regions to ensure all girls of school going age are enrolled.

Mandera County is among the areas that have wide disparities in gender variances with 70 per cent of the pupils who sat the exam being boys.

The Cabinet Secretary urged the county directors of regions whose jurisdiction had raging gender disparities to ‘investigate’ the root cause of the low girls turn out.

“Early marriages is one of the main reasons for the reasons why we have very few girls completing their primary school education, a county like Tana River had continued to have a few girls sitting for the exam.

Tuesday, Mandera governor Ali Roba said efforts had been made to improve education in the county since the devolved governments started.

Mandera emerged last in KCPE examinations although it improved its mean grade by a point.

Mr Roba said: “The county governments came into effect in the middle of the year when schools were already running.

We tried to put some efforts to improve academic performance, a thing we will continue.”

Keiyo South MP Jackson Kiptanui hailed Elgeyo-Marakwet County for being number two countrywide in the 2013 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examinations.

Mr Kiptanui congratulated parents, teachers and pupils in the county for the hardwork and determination that saw them perform well.

“The parents, teachers and pupils in the county should continue with same spirit for better performance and good life,” Mr Kiptanui said by phone.