Form Is Reporting to School

Friday was the big day for the incoming Form Is (freshmen). The secondary school that students attend is determined not by the area in which their parents reside but by the scores they obtain on the Kenya Comprehensive Primary Examination taken in November. These scores are printed for everyone in the nation to see in the newspapers. The top scorers are selected to attend national school that are the best in the country. They are the cream-of-the-crop students that get to attend the most fully furnished schools in the country with huge libraries, science labs, computer centers, etc. Many of these national school are private schools. This year there are 96 national schools that will be able to take 10,500 students.

Once the top 10,500 students are assigned to their secondary school, the next level of students are selected to attend provincial schools like St. Anthony's and St. Monica's. Instead of scoring 400+ points on the KCPE these students score between 320 and 400 points. These days selection is done by computers. Our principal and three teachers went to a meeting two weeks ago to receive the list of 179 girls invited to attend St. Monica's. In order to meet new requirements, 30% of the students must come from outside the geographical area of the school. The idea behind this requirement is to mix the populations, to introduce students to people outside of their tribe and ethnic group, to help build cohesiveness between Kenyan people.

Friday was reporting day for the Form Is. The older students were in class but the teachers were all helping with the new students. The received a letter of invitation from our school. Within that letter were the official documents needed to enroll from the school, a list of required supplies and other important information including school fees. This year the fees for St. Monica's was slightly over $500. In addition each girl needed to bring a trunk of her belongings including a mattress, bedding, bucket for washing, plate, spoon, cup, toilet paper, soap, personal hygiene items, socks, a dictionary, atlas, etc. These supplies probably cost about another $150.

When they arrived on campus the first person they had to see was Mr. Oduri. He had the unpleasant task of confirming that their fees were paid. Of the $500 fees required they must have paid $450. If not, they were not allowed to stay or enter school. It was so heartbreaking to watch families leaving because they didn't have enough money. We will hold the spots for these girls until Monday morning. If their families are able to raise the money by then they will still be able to come to St. Monica's. If not, their position will be given to another girl. I understand there are over 400 names on a waiting list of girls hoping yet to be allowed admission to St. Monica's. Their only chance is if some of these 179 girls on the original list aren't able to attend.

There will be a long line of people at school tomorrow. I sure hope several of them are those that were turned away on Friday. I can't imagine how humiliated I would be if I wasn't able to financially afford to send my daughter to a good school.