Friends of Dagoretti Children

Congratulations to our KCSE Students of 2015

We would like to congratulate our nine 2015 KCSE students on achieving a very respectable set of grades over the last week. 

Particular mention must go to Francis Kioi who received an A- grade, narrowly missing an A plain grade by only two marks! 

Francis is pictured here receiving an FDC academic prize in December 2015

These students are now all fulfilling their compulsory period of voluntary service and working at either the Kenya Red Cross, Mahali pa Watoto Kindergarten or Waithaka Special Needs School until university/college courses are allocated and decisions made on their next career path.

Next week they will be undertaking a three day in-house training course, with their peers from Karen Street Children's Trust, and will be covering a wide range of topics from good presentation skills, the preparation of CVs and application letters; to time management, the appropriate use of social media and an awareness of certain challenges (including the danger of radicalisation) that will face them as they leave school and move on up to tertiary education and more independent living. 

Returning to the KCSE results, it is a great shame that this year's results have been characterised by controversy and we are pleased to report that none of our students have been affected. 

A headline in today's Daily Nation (Saturday 12th March) reads:

"Govt will act on historic exam cheating, Education CS Matiang'i says". 

An extract from the article follows:

Education Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i has said the government will finally act on the historic cheating that eclipsed the recently released Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams.

He said the exams, which recorded the highest rise in the number of cheating cases in history, have revealed serious systemic loopholes that need to be dealt with immediately.

“We cannot subject our children to such recklessness,” he said during the closing ceremony of an education conference for Catholic private educational institutions, head teachers and directors at Catholic University of Eastern Africa.

Last year’s KCSE examinations recorded a 70 per cent rise in cases of cheating from the previous year, with results of 5,101 students being cancelled as a result.

The CS had stated that all those involved in leaking the examinations will be brought to account but had been vague about how this will happen.

He has now set March 30 as the day the government will reveal the actions being taken to ensure this year will not be a repeat of the last.