Also present at the event were representatives from the Headteachers association, Kenya National Union of teachers, representatives from the national parents association.

Speaking during the event, education permanent secretary Professor Karega Mutahi noted that challenges in education were renewed every year but reiterated that the government was committed to addressing these challenges. He thanked the religious organizations and Non governmental organization who had offered their facilities to be used in examining the IDPs especially in Eldoret area. The top IDP candidate had 378 pints out of a possible 500 which is recommendable.

Speaking before launching the results, The Education minister noted that there was a 28.8% increase in the number of candidates. He attributed this increase to mean that parents were taking advantage of the free education programme.

The minister noted that no big changes in the number of registrants or the performance arising from post election violence. He also said that the ministry would investigate absenteeism.

On the gender comparison on performance, gender disparity still in favour of boys. The worst case is north eastern where it is 76% boys to 24% girls. The story is different at the top positions where girls are performing as well as boys. The best student this year is a girl.

The top student from South Sudan 296 marks out of a possible 500 marks. This translates to 54% of the total . This , the minister said, is commendable considering that they have just come from years of war and social disturbance.

The minister announced a new form of cheating that is croping up. There were fiver examination centres wherre candidates and community members made the administration of the exam impossible. Candidates refused to hand over their mobile phones. Comunity members were shouting answers from the bushes and marauding youths engaged police in running battles at the examination centres. All the candidates in the five centres have their examination results canclelled

Cheating:

A total of 1835 from 65 centers candidates involved in cheating.

there was a major drop in the number of irregularities from regular schools with about 46% reduction.

the ministers thanked all the officers who had been involved in making successfull administration of their exams.

Exam results are available online at the National Examinations Council’s website: www.examscouncil.or.ke

Here are the top ten studentS countrywide:

1. mutinda monica wairimu 460pts
2. Muzera martin 454
3. Onyenga patriona akinyi 454
4. yaya salama mohammed 453
5. njogu paul m mbuthia 452
6. muguwia W S Saitoti 451
7. Nyakundi mari ochaberi 451
8. njeru collins moses 451
9. kirera davies ombati
10. mzee ramadhani mburia
11. kinyua bevr njeri
12. mutawali buluma
13. onyango collins omondi 450
14. ndirangu s daniel 450
15. njoroge charity wairimu 450
16. ousa Nilson bin okuta
17. mwangi ashley muthoni
18. mwaniki adda mishelle

Bullying is all too common among school-age children. In 2005, one out of four children had been a recent victim of bullying. As a parent, the challenges include identifying when your child has been bullied and determining the best response.

First, it’s important to be alert to signals that something is wrong. “If your child is not sleeping, not enjoying herself, not eating, or eating too much, you know there’s something going on,” says Stan Davis, author of two anti-bullying books and publisher of the website Stop Bullying Now. “That’s an indication to increase the amount of time you’re spending with her. And point out what you’re seeing. Say ‘You don’t seem happy. What’s going on?’ ”

He cautions that the root of the unhappiness may simply be puberty or other anxieties. But spending time together doing activities you both enjoy can be a way to help your child heal as well as a way for you to glean more information.

If your child is being bullied, determine the seriousness of the behavior and whether it is being repeated. On the low end of the spectrum, if another child is sticking his tongue out at your child or acting unfriendly, you may just want to help your child deal with that. In that case, Davis says, “It’s fine to acknowledge that there are people who enjoy being mean and that young people will have distress but will have to get used to it.”

Kids can also distance themselves from this kind of bully. But understanding the need to do that can be hard for children, who tend to see only two kinds of people: friends and enemies. Parents can help them understand that there are also people you just avoid.

In the middle range might be name-calling. Davis advises asking your child what he has already tried before offering advice; that way, you won’t look stupid by suggesting ideas that have failed. Then strategize for other possible approaches. If those don’t work, it’s time to involve the school.

Then there is behavior that Davis calls “completely intolerable.” This could include threats or physical harm. In this case, involve the school immediately. But don’t overreact when speaking to your child or to the school. “It’s important for parents to have a real good check on their own emotionality before talking to their child,” he says. “The problem with showing that emotion is that the child may think Dad’s blood pressure is going up and won’t tell him the next time. Or the child worries that you’ll charge in angrily to the school and make things worse.”

The School’s Role
One solution you might expect from the school is increased supervision. “We see these problems with bullying happening during unstructured times during the day, when there are low levels of adult supervision—during transitions to and from classes, on playgrounds, during lunch periods, that’s when schools could be more active in supervising the behaviors of students.”

Another solution is that parents ask the school to separate misbehaving kids. There needs to be a concerted effort in breaking up these subcultures of bullies. The school can place them in different classes, for example.

It takes a unified commitment to ending the behavior of bullying and that targeting one particular child will not work. It takes focusing change on the whole schoolwide environment and the classroom climate, as well. It takes parents being very vocal and advocating for their kids. At the school level, it takes parents, teachers, administrators, support staff, cafeteria workers, and janitors supervising students—and the students having a voice, as well, and making a pledge not to bully or to tolerate this behavior.

You might also ask the school to encourage other kids to spend time with your child as an antidote to the social isolation that can result from bullying. Other students may stay away from the kid getting picked on, or they’re embarrassed that they didn’t do anything to help. Such isolation can be even more damaging than the bullying.

If the school is unable or unwilling to solve the problem, then approach the school board or superintendent.
What’s most important is to take action. Involve the school very early when you start to see these problems. Two-thirds of students feel that schools and adults in general do a poor job responding to bullying.

By: Leigh Felesky

“Will my teacher be nice? Where will I sit? Will the other kids like me?” Many kids get nervous about heading back to school. A big part of a successful first week is establishing a routine and explaining where the bathroom is, what happens when you go to gym class and when to expect recess. With a little preparation, parents can help. Here’s how to make your child’s transition a smooth one.

Get Ready! Don’t underestimate the fun and importance of new stuff for the big day. With younger kids, a bag full of school supplies, a new backpack and a few new items of clothing tend to gear them up without any further encouragement. For an older child, this may be the time to give the thumbs-up to that must-have trend item.

Show Them the Way. If she’s new to the school, show your child her classroom, what entrance and exit to use and where the bathroom is located. If she’s taking the bus, visit the bus stop location and explain how to get on and off, especially if it’s the first time. Show her the drop off and pick up spot at school, too—if you’re not sure where it will be, call the school ahead of time to find out.

Prepare the Teacher. Let your child’s teacher know about any specifics about behaviour or health, such as a bladder infection. You don’t want a child to have a bad experience because he’s asking to go to the bathroom every half hour and the teacher says, ‘No,’ thinking he doesn’t need to go so frequently but really he does.

Be Organized. Ease back-to-school anxiety by being prepared. Help your child to lay out her clothes and pack her backpack the night before. Be sure to include a healthy lunch and a snack that your child can open and eat on his own.

Take It Easy. Preparation is great—but don’t go overboard. You’re the best judge of when your child needs reassurance, and how to go about giving it. In the end, remember that it’s normal to feel a little nervous or fluttery about that first week back. Everyone, including the teachers, feels like that.