Kakamega To Pay Full High School Fees For Top KCPE 2022 Student

Kakamega Governor, Fernandes Barasa surprised Otieno Lewis Omondi Glen, the top student in the 2022 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams with a full secondary school scholarship.

In a statement on Wednesday, December 21, Barasa announced that the county will pay the whole high school fees for the star student who beat over 1.2 million candidates who sat for the national exams.

“The County Government of Kakamega will sponsor the top student, Otieno Lewis Omondi Glen, through his Secondary Education,” he announced.

He also acknowledged the role Lewis' school played in nurturing the student through its teachers, and that his impressive feat saw the county recognised nationally for producing the best student.

Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa during a public address on December 21, 2022. /FACEBOOK.FERNANDES BARASA

“Congratulations St. Peters Mumias Boys Primary for placing Kakamega County on the National map, by producing the best student.

"It was a pleasure joining you for the celebrations. Good academic performance is a result of deliberate efforts from teachers, parents, learners and the community,” he stated.

Barasa also recognised how special Wednesday was for the residents of Kakamega County given that it had produced one of two of the best KCPE candidates in the country who scored 431 marks out of a possible 500.

“Today is a happy day for the people of Kakamega after receiving the KCPE results because the top student comes from this county,” he added.

Education in Kakamega County has continued to receive huge support from the government owing to its tendency of producing top students both academically and in extra-curricular activities. Barasa promised in his manifesto to make the education sector a number one agenda.

“I have made sure that the education sector in my manifesto has been given the first priority and am also working with the government to make sure the sector is highly supported,” announced Barasa.

Omondi told the press that he wishes to join the prestigious Alliance High School and later pursue an engineering course in his university education.

“I thank God for the impressive performance in the KCPE exam. My parents and teachers gave me the encouragement and support that made all the difference and contributed to my good performance in the exam. My fellow students were there for me all the time whenever I needed them," he stated.

The headteacher, Ann Onyancha, said that Omondi maintained his top performance since joining the school eight years ago.

Candidates who scored 400-500 marks were 9,443 (0.77%), 300-399 were 307,756 (24.94%), 200-299 were 619,593 (50.22%), 100-199 were 296,336 (24.2%) and those who scored 1-99 marks were 724 (0.06%). 

Of these candidates, 620,965 (50.32 per cent) were boys while 612,887 (49.67 per cent) were girls, a clear indication that the country has achieved gender parity at the primary school level. In the 2021 KCPE, 1,214,031 candidates sat the examination.