St. Anthony’s School in Kiambu is celebrating a landmark victory following the release of the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) results last Thursday.
The school’s pioneer Grade 9 candidates, the first cohort under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) to sit the assessment, have performed in an “exemplary” manner, according to the school administration.
Speaking to Kiambu observer the Head of Institution, Esther Mihingu, confirmed the exceptional performance of their 54 candidates.
“We had 54 candidates who we prepared for the last nine years and our learners did very well,” Mihingu stated. “In the category of Exceeding Expectations (EE), our 38 candidates achieved this, which is very, very impressive.”
She elaborated on the CBE grading structure, replacing the old percentage system with descriptive categories: Below Expectation, Approaching Expectation, Meeting Expectation, and Exceeding Expectation.
- EE (Exceeding Expectation): 38 students
- EE1: 12 learners
- EE2: 26 learners
- Meeting Expectation (ME): 16 students
- Below Expectation/Approaching Expectation: 0 students
“This is impressive because exceeding expectation ranges from 80 percent and above in the traditional sense,” she noted, highlighting that none of their candidates fell into the ‘Below Expectation’ category.
Pioneers Set for National Schools
The outstanding results mean a significant number of St. Anthony’s learners are poised to join the country’s top institutions for Senior School (Grade 10).
“I saw in the papers yesterday that the category of learners with exceeding expectation will be admitted in national category,” She said. “I can see a big number of our learners will be joining national schools in the Republic to be the first pioneer in the senior school.”
The 16 learners who achieved ‘Meeting Expectation’ are expected to secure spots in top extra county schools.
Challenges Facing the Pioneer CBE Class
While celebrating the success, she did not shy away from detailing the significant challenges the pioneer CBE class has faced. The primary hurdle has been the recurring delay in the publication and distribution of new curriculum books.
“The pioneer class has been that class that anytime they join a new class, the books were not yet published,” she explained. “By January when we opened this year, the Grade 9 books had not been published, and we waited for a long time.”
She expressed serious concern that the same issue is recurring for the incoming Senior School class (Grade 10).
“Yesterday I saw again in the KICD reports say the senior school books, Grade 10 books are not ready. It’s quite unfortunate if these learners will be joining a new class and waiting for books to be published for almost a term.”
She appealed to the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) and publishers to rectify this matter urgently to ensure the smooth transition and learning for the new cohort.
In the Senior School Pathways she
also took the opportunity to inform parents about the three new pathways learners will transition to in Senior School, which is a key component of the CBE system:
- Arts and Sports Pathway
- Social Sciences Pathway
- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Pathway
The school is confident that the foundation laid at St. Anthony’s will prepare the students adequately for whichever pathway they choose in the next phase of their education.
