Eshibanze Muslim Secondary School continues to dominate academics in Matungu Sub-county, thanks to super measures from the soft-spoken Principal Madam Emelda Otieno.
The school had 19 students scoring above the minimum university entry grade of C+ and above with the top student scoring a B plain.
Some 5 students managed to get B (plain), 9 B- (minus), 5 C+ (plus), 13 C, 19 C-, 11 D+ and only 2 students got a D-. The school recorded a mean score of 5.86 with a positive deviation of 0.61 compared to the previous year.
Madam Emelda, the Principal said that through a dedicated team, they have produced impressive performances in exams since 2019 when she was delocalised to Eshibanze Muslim from Homa Bay County.
“The school has a renowned history of posting impressive results in exams since 2019 as our boys and girls have always topped Matungu Sub-county in various academic disciplines,” she said.
In 2020, the school produced a top girl in Matungu sub-county with an A- (minus) by the name of Pauline Ambia who is now pursuing Medicine at the University.
In 2021, Bilal Keya topped Matungu with an A- and Doryn Ayuma scored a B+.
In the same year 2021, the only A plain grade in Chemistry was realised from Shadrack Wesonga.
In 2022, the school was ranked the best Muslim school in the Western Region and in 2023, the school broke the record by producing the best student in Kakamega County.
Einstein Baraka scored an impressive A plain of 83 points and Anwar Musa scored an A- of 79 points in the same year.
What has baffled many is how the little-known school continues to upset academic giants in the region and the super Principal Madam Emelda shared with this writer the secrets behind the impressive performance, among them:
Early syllabus coverage, support from the community, good students who know what they want, exposure to more exams, psyching of learners, family clusters, disciplined students and the dedicated staff.
According to the Principal, it is only at Eshibanze where boys and girls solely relate on matters academics and nothing else.
“We have a very disciplined set of students and this helps us more to focus on what adds value to ourselves as girls compete against boys and this has worked magic for us always,” she said.
As the school basks in performance glory, they have been facing a myriad of challenges among them shortage of teachers, delayed capitation from the national government, and slow fee payments, among other factors that affect them dearly.
The school plans to ride on the same measures that they have been employing in the past to help them remain at the helm of academics in Matungu.
As the school motto goes, Our teachers are the geese that lay the golden egg, students have some belief in their teachers led by the principal who is always the first one in school by 5 a.m. followed by her deputy Madam Carolyn Shiramba and the duo are the role models to many students.
