Puzzle of Siaya girl called to national boys school after excelling in 2023 KCPE exams
Gloria Adhiambo with her admission at her home in Nyalgunga in North Alego, Siaya County. She received a letter of admission to Lenana School, a boys' school.
What you need to know:
- Despite excelling in the 2023 KCPE exams, Gloria’s hopes of academic success now appear to be a pipe dream after she received an admission letter to join Lenana, a boys’ school.
The passion to excel in life, the energy to beat the jinx of all family members failing to succeed academically and the desire to pull her family from the rut of poverty propelled her to stretch beyond her limits and attain 389 marks in the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Primary School Education (KCPE) exam.
Gloria Adhiambo, who schooled at Nyalgunga Primary School in North Alego, Siaya County, believed that only through education would her life change.
She envisioned herself scaling the academic ladder and succeeding in life. However, all that now appears to be just a pipe dream after the 14-year-old received an admission letter to join Lenana School in Nairobi. The admission letter is patently flawed because Lenana School is a national boys school.
When the Nation visited her home in Nyalgunga, there was glaring evidence of abject poverty. Children were walking around half-naked and most looked malnourished.
Just next to a deserted house was a stack of dried maize stalks, an indication of a failed harvest.
“I did not know that the national school was a boys school. I worked so hard because I believed academic excellence will change my family’s fortunes,” said Gloria dejectedly.
She recalls that she selected a number of schools including Alliance Girls, Kisumu Girls, and Rang’ala Girls.
“What I don’t understand is how I ended up being admitted to a boys school when I had selected several girls schools,”she said.
“I am worried because I may miss joining a national school,” Gloria added.
As things stand, Gloria is technically unable to even apply for a scholarship.
“It is impossible to apply for bursary or scholarship from well-wishers because of the error in my admission letter.”
“There are several scholarships that have locked me out because of this mistake,” she added.
According to reports forms seen by the Nation, Gloria has been topping her class ever since she joined class one.
Though she expected to score 400 marks in the KCPE exam, she said she was contented with 389 that she attained. Her mother, Ms Margaret Awuor expressed concern over her daughter’s predicament.
“She worked very hard in order to secure a chance at a national school. Time is running out and, if nothing is done, she may miss joining secondary school,” Ms Awuor lamented.
Ms Awuor said that they had already reported the anomaly to the head teacher at Gloria’s former school, who promised to escalate it to the relevant officials at the Ministry of Education.
Reached for a comment, Siaya County Education Director Mbugua Kabaki said the matter would be resolved.
“That is a simple error that shall be rectified,” he said on phone.
