Gilgil leaders laud rise in transition from primary to secondary school

The transition rate from primary to secondary school in Gilgil Constituency, Nakuru County has risen from 20 to 70 per cent in the last three years, are MP Nderitu Mathenge has said.

According to Mr Mathenge, the positive change has been attributed to the construction of more schools in the semi-arid area, which had been sidelined by previous regimes.

According to the legislator, the constituency that was created in 2013 had previously major challenges in education sector such as the lack of secondary schools; high poverty levels and lack of support from stakeholders which contributed to the low transition rate.

“In the last three years we have constructed 12 secondary schools and this has seen the transition rate from primary to secondary school to 70 per cent,” he said.

Mr Mathenge added that there was room for improvement as the area CDF committed more funds to the education sector.

The MP was speaking in Gilgil Town when he awarded full scholarships to 30 students from poor backgrounds to join form one.

The students received over Ksh900,000, with the promise of more support if they excelled in the respective schools where they had been admitted.

“Gilgil has very bright students but the major challenge that many families are facing is poverty, meaning the students cannot join secondary school,” he said.

Regarding the ongoing drought, Mathenge said the area had started to feel the effects of the adverse weather conditions, but noted that over 80 per cent of area farmers had a good harvest.

“On the issue of IDs, we have mobilized youths to go from village to village to make sure that all youths have registered as voters,” he said.

Area CDF Chairman Joseph Ngure said that with the construction of schools, the number of students dropping out had gone down significantly.

Ngure noted that some of the students who had benefited from the bursary had been suffering, while some had been employed as casual labourers in their home areas.

“Since the constituency was formed, we have seen a tremendous change in the education sector mainly in the increase of schools and number of students,” he said.