Nyanza giants lead the way amid anxiety on internet delays

Nyanza’s traditional academic giants were yesterday beaming with confidence and excitement after another year of excellence in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations.

Maranda, Ng’iya, Maseno and Mbita high schools are the toast of the region with hundreds of students scoring A plain.

Unlike the past where private schools stole the limelight, there was jubilation in several public schools in the region.

At Maranda, last year’s class recorded a mean of 9.7. According to the chief principal, Edwin Namachanja, this was an improvement from 9.5 in the 2023 examinations.

“538 candidates met the requirement for direct university admission,” said Dr Namachanja, adding that 56 candidates scored A plain, 150 A-, 56  (B+), 131(B), 104 (B-), 67 (C+), 30 (C), 18 (C-) and 5 got D.

He attributed the good performance to hard work and commitment by the teachers, students and parents.

At Maseno, 18 learners who had received their results had obtained straight A plain by 5pm.

At Ngiya Girls, a school that has been on a steady recovery after several years of gloom, 22 students scored A minus while the top student scored an A plain.

Learners at the school broke into song and dance to celebrate the fete. According to Hellen Juma, the principal, hard work and resilience has paid off. 

“We attribute these good results to the teachers and our students. The parents have also been supportive with academic materials,” she said.

Tesi Atieno, who scored A plain, said she had been optimistic. “I knew I would pass but I was not expecting to get an A plain. My dream is to study medicine and surgery,” she said.

Similarly, there was jubilation in Homa Bay as Mbita High School registered exemplary results. By yesterday evening, 11 candidates had confirmed a score of A plain.

One of best students were Jeoffrey Ogonga with 84 points, Rawlings Owino with 83 points, and Vincent Auma, Moses Ondieki and Charles Irokoze with 82 points each.

At Gendia High School, only Fredrick Odhiambo and Fuad Ahmed had confirmed their score of A- by the time of going to press.

“We are still going on with retrieval of the results but I am confident we are going to record very good ones,” said James Okeno, the principal.

In Migori, a little-known Masara Secondary School got its first A grade, with three students recording A- and 21 B+ out of 315 candidates.

At Kanga, the principal, Ruben Kodiango, said they were still compiling the results but several students had scored As of between 80 to 84 points.

In Kisii, however, there was anxiety due to delays in transmitting the results.

Schools with big number of candidates like Nyambaria Boys, Kisii School, Kereri Girls, Cardinal Otunga Mosocho, Sironga Girls, Nyakongo Boys, Nyamira Boys, Nyaikuro Mixed and St Paul’s Gekano had difficult times accessing the results.

By the time of going to press, Kisii School, which had more than 700 candidates, the principal, Fred Mogaka, said he had managed to access results of only 80 candidates by last evening. Of thses, 15 had grade A.

“The system is a big failure for us but we have to contend with the situation,” he said. 

At the 2022 national champions Nyambaria in Nyamira, it was a  busy day for teachers as they worked against the challenge to get the results of more than 700 students.

Chief principal, Charles Onyari, said by 6pm yesterday, they had accessed results for 200 candidates, with, six A plain and over 70 A- grades. 

In 2023 tests, Nyambaria produced the best KCSE candidate nationally. 

At Kebirigo Boys, verified results of 30 candidates out of 424 showed the school had two A and 18 A- grades. 

At Riokindo Boys, there was early celebration after the school registered it’s first A plain after seven years. Dan Marube scored the A to lead a park of  60 A-, 41 B+, 44 B- and 11 C+ grades. 

By 6pm, Paul’s Gekano Boys had registered three A- and 30 B+ grades.

At Sironga Girls School in Nyamira, results for 206 candidates out of 860 had been recorded as follows: 14 A-, 46 B+ and 69 C+.

Chief Principal Jane Nyanumba confirmed that this year was a better one compared to last year.

Cardinal Otunga chief principal, Ezekiel Okeyo, said by evening, they had recorded results of only 50 of the 500 candidate. 

“We have recorded 30 A- and several Bs and C grades. We promise to release full results when we shall be through with the compilation,” he said. 

At Kebirigo Boys, verified results of 30 candidates, out of 424, indicated two A plain and 18 A- grades.

[Report by Anne Atieno, Olivia Odhiambo, Stanley Ongwae, James Omoro and Isaiah Gwengi]