By Angatia Leonard 
Matunda Salvation Army Secondary School is on the path towards attaining academic excellence in 2025 KCSE. The sub-county school has 370 candidates set for this year’s exams.
Principal Mrs Mary Kivayiru Luvanda, a mother figure and down to earth administrator, has steered the premier institution to fruition since 2021 when she took the helm. She revealed that the candidates are burning the midnight oil to surpass their set target of 7.5, and that with the help of committed teachers, they are confident of attaining their target.
The school posted a mean of 6.244 in last year’s exams, registering a positive deviation of +0.184 compared to the 6.06 posted in 2023.
The grade allocation in 2024 KCSE was: 1 A plain, 7 A-, 16 B+, 35 B plain, 56 B-,79 C+,83 C plain, 88 C-,63 D+ and 24 D plain. This resulted in 194 out of 452 candidates qualifying for direct university admission, the highest number in the school’s history. The best performed subject in the exam was Mathematics, with a mean of 5.39, with 45 students scoring As.
The sub-county school is categorized as a STEM school and has a student population of 1245. Since 2005, the six stream school is on record for always producing students with grade A plain or A-.
The principal revealed that the school is on the national map for becoming a centre of excellence and working round the clock to increase the number of quality grades, consequently reducing the tail grades.
“The school treats all students equally, irrespective of their affiliations and influence. We also boast of having a high retention strategy, since almost all the students who join the school in form one, reach form four,” she said, adding that the entry behavior is an average of 300 marks, and discipline and integrity is the key to good performance.
During form one admission, the students are taught about the school’s culture of self-discipline and integrity, which makes their stay in the school, and the learning process smooth.
“Hard-work and team-work among the teachers ensures early syllabus completion to allow students have good and quality time for revision. The students are also given enough tests and exams, and taken through Science practical sessions regularly to help them master concepts,” she explained.
Mrs Luvanda has a charitable program that sponsors needy students from form 1 to 4. She has identified philanthropic friends who embrace her program and support students whole heartedly. The program also has the support of the BoM and their friends, the business community in Matunda vicinity and the school’s alumni organization.
She added that the students love this school and believe in themselves, just as much as the teachers and their parents believe in them.
” You never know where you will meet these young ones and we respect them at their capacity,” Mrs Luvanda noted.
The principal revealed that the school programs run smoothly due to the support of all stakeholders who are geared towards a common goal.
“I use a lot of delegation and every department runs independently. We collaborate well with the BoM, area security team and our ever supportive parents,” she averred.
She revealed that she has allowed parents to be paying school fees in installments of Ksh200 per week through a paybill number. The initiative favors those with little income like mama mbogas and allows them to easily clear fees by end of the term. Parents can also pay fees in kind, ensuring that students aren’t sent home for fees.
The principal noted with pride that with the good management in the school and transparent leadership, students end up as morally upright and academically moulded individuals. These aspects have led many schools to visit Matunda S.A Secondary for benchmarking sessions.
St Augustine Nomorio Secondary School from Mt. Elgon recently visited the school. Mr David Onyango, a teacher at the school revealed to Education Hotspot News that they learnt a lot from the populous day school which balances high discipline and academics well.
“The school works closely with the local administration, a move that enhances discipline and performance.” He stated.
Director of Studies Mr. Joel Mengich said that the school takes almost the whole village to universities, due to the high transition rate. He added that strategic planning meetings are held every February to evaluate academic programs and identify areas for improvement to raise mean scores.
He expressed optimism that they’ll continue to produce many students with grade As and that the candidates will surpass their target because of their strong commitment to excellence.
“We should even be crowned the best day school in the country.” he opined.
Matunda sub-location assistant chief Mr. Joseph Shikuku, who was chairing a security meeting at the school, said that as a result of amicable response and reasoning to issues raised by the principal, his security team has been able to solve issues such as discipline and students’ safety.
He added that the school is an asset to the community, hence their desire to maintain excellent standards of performance and promote a peaceful environment for all stakeholders.
“We ensure the safety of both teachers and students, as learning begins very early in morning and ends late in the evening,” he added, explaining further that it’s important to protect all stakeholders from any impending harm.
During the meeting, they discussed the issue of drugs and substance abuse and how to curb it among the youth in school. They emphasized on the role of parenting, which is somehow neglected and left for teachers alone yet discipline should start at home.
The security team promised to handle absenteeism by visiting homes frequently upon information. They also promised to discourage illicit relationships which leads to early pregnancies, HIV/AIDS and other issues that disrupt students’ academics and sometimes leads to death.
Joy Christine
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