Academic competition is the name of the game

Eighteen year old Magreth Kakoko received the good news at a shop where her parents had sent her to buy some groceries.

Her parents found out on Friday last week during radio announcements that the former St Francis Girls Secondary School in Mbeya student was Tanzania’s first runner up, after excelling in the 2013 Form Four National Examinations that she sat for in November last year.

Magreth, came second to with Robina Nicholaus from Marian Girls of Bagamoyo, says she took it for a joke, as her parents broke the good news to her.

“They told me that they heard from the radio and I treated such news like any other prank, and I returned back home with what I was sent for”, she says.

No sooner had she arrived home than congratulatory wishes began pouring in, and at this point, she was overwhelmed by the reality of the good news.

“I had received many messages on my phone that I was number one in last year’s exam, and after checking I confirmed my fears,” she recalls.

Magreth who scored division one point seven in the results says she was determined to do well in the exams but her results surpassed even her highest expectations.

“My goal was simple, to score a division one, I had never thought that I will be the best student, nor come out with a distinction,” reveals the soft spoken best student.

Magreth who also refutes claims that she fainted upon receiving the news as alleged by some section of the media in the country, attributes her feat to the spirit of hard work and utmost discipline envisioned at St Francis.

Her sentiments are echoed by Sr Floffy Sequeira, the headmistress at The southern highland school who says that work and cooperation between staff and students at St Francis has been the secret to their success for the second year running.

“We don’t motivate our students in any other way, our success trickles down to hard work and dedication that own students exhibit,” says the school head.

According to Sr Sequeira, part of their success is also attributed to the dedication that teachers at her school stand for in ensuring that each student leaves the class only after they have understood what is taught each day.

With this year’s feat, St Francis Girls Secondary School has actually defended their number one spot, having also claimed the same position in 2012 Form Four National Examination results, where this time around they had a total of 90 candidates.

As Magreth and her colleagues continue to celebrate their hard won achievement, there was a more calm mood at Marian Boys Secondary School in Kerege Bagamoyo, even though the school came second in this year’s results.

Just like St Francis Girls Secondary School, Marian Boys have also defended their position, with these being their second batch of form four candidates, since 2009.

One thing the two schools have in common though is that they are both managed by the Roman Catholic Church. While this year they had a total of 110 candidates who sat the exam, Marian Boys had 75 candidates in 2012 national exam.

According to Mr Renatus Mwenda, the headmaster at Marian Boys Secondary School, though they were happy with the results, they were still not pleased to see St Francis Girls reclaiming the number one spot, for the second year running.

“Last year we were number two, we regrouped ourselves and aimed to lead the pack, only to witness St Francis defending their position,” he quips.

He however admits that they were still positive of the results, this being their second batch of form four candidates to have ever sat the exam since 2009.

He too, attributes his school’s success to hard work and discipline among the students.

“We adhere to strict study hours and every students is supposed to follow them accordingly,” explains the headmaster.

At Marian Boys, monthly tests have become very common to students, partly because of how the questions have been set.

“The questions in national exams are difficult, the students therefore prepare themselves well, and this has helped in seeing them excel in national exams too,” he says.

Nineteen year old Godwin Dellah, an Economics, Geography and Mathematics(EGM) Form Five student at Marian Boys who sat his exams in 2012 attributes his school’s success to utmost ethical standards that each student observes within the school campus.

“We have counselling sessions that help us shape our welfare while in school, this has greatly helped us in becoming who we are today, even when the school is very new to many,” explains Godwin, who aspires to become an auditor.

As for Kenneth Aminiel, a current Form Four student at the school, the pressure is now on their shoulders to topple St Francis.

“We are ready for it though we know it will not be an easy walk in the park, knowing that they are prepared but we will try to improve on the efforts of our predecessors,” says the determined future engineer.

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