Bright but needy learners may never join Form One due to lack of school fees

They beat the odds and aced the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examinations. But now the odds are working against them. And, their dreams of pursuing secondary education hang on a cliff without financial support.

With a mountain of financial burden sitting between them and their dreams, they are unlikely to join their peers in Form 1 next week. We profiled but a few who for various reasons are badly in need of financial assistance.

Alpha Mumo, marks scored – 414

I am being raised by a single mother. I have been getting my education in Nairobi but I faced difficult moments in late 2022 when my mother had to relocate to her rural home.

  I remained in Dandora, where I did not have accommodation. I was lucky a rescue centre supported me to complete my final year in primary school. I scored 414 marks in KCPE and I have an admission letter for Murang’a Boys.

  I dream of becoming a top lawyer but without support, even joining high school will be a challenge.

Asher Kiburi, marks scored – 421

I have always harboured a dream of becoming a pilot. I was overjoyed when I received an invitation to join my dream school, Mang'u High School.

However, this ambition could be derailed due to lack of school fees. My father lost his job last year and my mother is a housewife. We have been struggling. I am appealing for help from well-wishers to help me realise my dream.

Barnabas Obala, marks scored – 407

I live in Dandora and my father is a cart puller, he hardly makes enough to provide for the family. In 2022, when I was in Standard 7, I was forced to join children scavenging garbage for sellable items at the Dandora dumpsite due to financial difficulties. I only returned to class in March after the centre that was supporting me had closed its enrolment. Luckily, they found me a spot at a nearby school that had not yet closed its enrolment. I scored 407 marks in KCPE and I have been selected to join Mbita Boys. Without support, I cannot make it there.

Patience Akoye, marks scored – 406

The uncertainties of life have knocked me down several times but also made me steadfast in performing well in KCPE. My siblings and I have returned from the flood survivors’ camp. And now, I’m faced with the nightmare of raising the Sh53,000 school fees required to join Form 1 at Kenya High School. I lost everything to the floods and cannot pay my fees. My siblings have dropped out of school due to fees arrears. There seems to be no hope ahead, even for me.

Elizabeth Sidi, marks scored – 388

My dream is to become a doctor to help people.  I also want to help my family and also give back to my community.

I’m supposed to join Bahari Girls High School in Kilifi, but I cannot raise the Sh59,000 school fees. I come from a family of eight children.

Our father died when we were very young, and since then, life has been hard. We struggle to get food, clothing and school fees. That is why I’m appealing for financial aid.

Stanley Odhiambo Ajode, marks scored – 381

I would like to be an engineer someday. I am to report to Orero Boys High School this month, but I am not sure if this will come to pass. My mother is unable to raise the required Sh40,535 fees per year.

 With every new day, the prospects of joining secondary are diminishing. I would appreciate it if someone would sponsor my secondary education, even in a day school.

 I just want to study and, with the help of God, I’ll perform well. I’ll be disciplined and committed to my studies.

Victor Obama, marks scored – 412

My father died and my mother is ailing. I am staying with my grandmother at the moment. I’ve been selected to join Maranda High School but I’m unlikely to join the school for lack of fees.

Purity Chepkwemoi Kimtai, marks scored – 404

I humbly ask for financial support to join Moi Girls Eldoret. My grandfather who was supporting me passed away in August 2023 and my parents are unable to help since they are educating my two other siblings in secondary school. My dream is to become a surgeon.

Felix Mwenda, marks scored – 370

I’m unlikely to join Nkubu High School because my grandmother is not able to pay Sh42,700 school fees for the whole year and about Sh30,000 for bedding, personal items and books. In 2022, I scored 328 marks in KCPE but was forced to repeat because I couldn’t join secondary school for financial reasons. I repeated Class Eight last year and got 370 marks. My mother is mentally handicapped and I do not know the whereabouts of my father. I appeal for help.

Ndambuki Samuel Ndeto, marks scored – 378

I scored 378 marks in KCPE at Kyekoyo Primary School in Machakos County. It may have seemed easy, but it wasn’t. My grandfather Bosco Muthike Mutiso, 69, faces financial constraints and he also suffers from high blood pressure.  My mother became mentally ill, resulting in the breakdown of her marriage to my father. The separation left me and my two siblings desolate. At some point, I dropped out of school and was a street child in Nairobi. However, well-wishers tracked me and took me back to school. I had to repeat Standard Seven in 2022. I have been called to Thika Boys High School and I am badly in need of financial assistance.

Joy Wanjiru, marks scored – 400

I’m to join Kenya High School, but my mother – who ekes out a living by washing people’s clothes, earning about Sh300 per day for two days a week– cannot afford to raise the school fees. She is not been able to raise the Sh100,000 school fees needed. I have applied for scholarships,  but so far none of them has been forthcoming. If nothing changes by January 15, I’ll be forced to forfeit the chance. My dream is to become a neurosurgeon.

Namenge Martha Bahati, marks scored – 400

Despite working hard to earn a spot in my dream school, Lugulu Girls High School in Webuye, I am not sure if my single mother will be able to raise school fees, purchase school uniforms and other school requirements to continue with my studies. I have another sibling who is also supposed to join high school. The amount required for the two of us is overwhelming to our single mother who depends on casual jobs to put food on the table and cater for our other needs. I tried applying for the scholarships, but I was not lucky. The full amount needed to join the institution is Sh75, 000. I am appealing for help.

Esther Nafuna, marks scored – 386

I am the last born in a family of 12. None of those before me has ever gone past primary school, and the same fate may befall me. My mother has the huge task of raising such a big family by herself. She does menial jobs to fend for us, which hardly fetches Sh100 in a day. I hope to join Kolanya Girls National School and break the cycle of poverty in our home. I pray for a Good Samaritan to help me join the school by paying the Sh75,798 fees – a mandatory Sh22,244 for term one. There are also other requirements like uniforms and stationery.  I’ve been hawking items on the streets to help raise my fees.

When I complete my studies, I  want to be an advocate.  I promise to make everyone who will invest in my education proud.

Joel Mureithi, marks scored – 408

I do not want to miss out on the chance to join Kapsabet High School. My father who repairs tyres at Karandi Trading Centre in Laikipia West lacks the ability to pay my fees.

 I have been helping him fix punctured tyres with the hope of raising money for my school fees but it is hardly enough. I hope with the little we have saved; we will convince the school principal to consider admitting me. 

    Even so, I know it will be a tall order for my father who is already struggling with the fees of my older siblings. If that flops, then my hopes of becoming a pilot will be shattered forever.

  My fear is the likely possibility of not joining secondary since we have not raised Sh75,798 for a whole year’s fees, out of which, I am expected to report to school next week during admission to Form 1 with Sh22,244 besides other requirements.

Leonard Chepsiror Koech, marks scored – 304

I was raised by a single mother in a banditry-stricken area. Despite the hardships, I managed to score above 300 marks and was called to  Kapenguria School. I will need  Sh62, 779 fees for the whole year. My mother is, frankly, unable to pay school fees for me. I’m appealing for help to join Form One.

Ronny Ochieng Nyagweth, marks scored – 412

I’m not sure whether or not I will join Starehe Boys Centre next week because of the lack of school fees. I need Sh50,160. But my mother, the breadwinner, is a vegetable vendor who also takes care of five other siblings. She has only been able to raise Sh28,000 from her savings and well-wishers.

My father has been bedridden since 2015 when he fell sick and underwent corrective surgery.

I am appealing for sponsorship. I promise to do my best and won’t let you down.

Shephy Claudio Otieno, marks scored – 374

I’m unlikely to join Agoro Sare Secondary School for lack of school fees. My mother can barely feed us, and I bet, she is not able to pay my secondary education fees of Sh40,535 fee per year. I am appealing to well-wishers to help pay my school fees and I will not disappoint you by the end of the four years.

Victor Odhiambo, marks scored – 409

I hope to become a doctor when I grow up. But his dream is on the verge of being shattered since my father is unable to support my secondary education at Kanga High School.

He is just a peasant and survives us by doing casual jobs and sometimes fishing. But now, he is down and has been ill this whole period. He survived a deadly accident that almost took him away from us. He broke his arms and is currently unable to do anything.

The school fees for the whole year is Sh80,000. If I find favour before anyone, I would appreciate if they would finance my secondary studies.

Ombati Francis Mwari, marks scored – 402

My chances of joining Maranda High School are thinning as the clock ticks away. My parents do not have any jobs to support my studies. Whatever they can pool, is hardly ever enough since we mostly have to survive on a meal a day and sometimes we are forced to sleep on empty stomachs.

I’m the firstborn in a family of three. As far as my studies are concerned, there appears to be no light ahead. My hopes, dreams, and prospects of the future are surely fading away. I applied for scholarships but none, so far, has been successful.

Charles Ochieng’, marks scored – 373

My widowed mother, a fishmonger, has not been able to raise Sh62,000 needed to admit me at Sawagongo High School. I’m the second-born. My elder brother turned blind many years ago. Over the holidays, I’ve been slashing grass in people’s compounds and I have been doing menial jobs to help my mother to raise the fees. But slashing grass, doing laundry, and other menial jobs, which do not come often, only fetch between Sh100 and Sh300 at best.

  As it is, we have not been lucky to save enough to secure the admission or even clear the fees. I sat KCPE at Nyangera Primary School, a rural school in Yimbo East Ward, Bondo Sub-County. I want to be a doctor when I grow up. If I could get help to pay my school fees, I promise to study harder and smarter.

Emmanuel Nyakundi Nyawaye, marks scored – 406

Whenever my mother – a single parent – prays for me, I listen to how she begs the heavens to open a door. Particularly when she mentions my studies, she almost always runs out of words.

  I listen to the pain in her voice and know that I’m likely to miss the chance of joining Maranda High School. The mountain ahead is a school fee of Sh53,544.

If she had a job, I know, she would be able to support my studies. But she lost her tailoring job when the company she was working for wound up operations last year. She has since moved to our rural home in Suneka, Kisii.

Joyce Wairimu, marks scored – 406

I sat my KCPE examinations last year and was lucky to be selected to join Njoro Girls High School. But my parents cannot raise the school fees needed for me to join the school with other students next week.

  My mother hawks credit cards within the Nakuru central business district while my father is a casual labourer who depends on construction work to sustain the family.

I need more than Sh70,000 to purchase uniforms, fees and shopping but my parents cannot afford that.

Other cases filed:

Phillip Namtilla, marks scored – 304

I’m to join Namaika Secondary School where I’m required to pay  Sh10,800 before joining. But as it stands, I may not join Form One because my parents are jobless. They even struggle to provide for us.

Livingstone Mwaura, marks scored – 350

My father died when I was just nine months old. I’ve since been raised by my mother who works a casual labourer in rice farms where she earns a paltry Sh400 on a good day. But this is not adequate to fund my secondary education at Kianyaga High School where the fees is Sh62,000 per student per year. We sometimes go without a meal a day.

Barbra Akinyi, marks scored – 330

I have been hawking sukuma wiki at Kiratina market to raise my fees since I sat my KCPE exams but the business has not yielded much. I hope to join Langalanga Secondary School. But I’m worried that this may not be possible if a miracle does not happen. Since I downloaded the admission letter and showed it to my father, he has not uttered a word regarding my secondary school education. I can’t help but pray and hope that the heavens may grant my wishes of proceeding with my studies. I want to become a nurse later on in life.

Julius Kipkemoi, marks scored – 333

I secured a slot at Langalanga Secondary School but my dreams of joining the school may remain just that – a dream. I require Sh21,000 to pay this year’s school fees. My mother is ailing and is bedridden. She is unable to pay my fees. And at the moment, we are being housed by a Good Samaritan. I collect plastic bottles in the slum and sell them so that I can buy at least buy Bible needed in school, shoes and also to cater for my mother’s needs. I pray that a well-wisher will help me to pay fees.

Mitchell Otula, marks scored – 354

My mother is yet to buy any of the requirements listed in the admission letter. And, it appears, all is not well. I’m only a child, and my mother may never tell me about her financial struggles. But it is now an open secret that she is financially overwhelmed.

She normally washes clothes for other people to earn a living –and that is unlikely to raise enough money to pay fees.

I wish that someone would chip in to support my studies at Mirogi Girls in Ndhiwa.

Paul Omollo, marks scored – 356

I have secured admission at Kericho High School but my parents, who are peasants, are unable to raise my fees of Sh62,779 per year. Primary school was not easy; I relied on borrowed books and uniforms. I hope to become a medic. I am, therefore, appealing to anyone who can pay my secondary school fees to help me achieve my dream.

Anne Rehema Vuyanzi, marks scored – 390

I wish to join Form One, but I’m a total orphan with nothing but my parents’ death certificate and the burning ambition to study. If I fail to join Form One, it will be the second time that I’m unlucky. In 2021, I got 390 but lacked money. I now work as a house-help to raise fees to join any high school that will be willing to accommodate me.

Daisy Nanyas, marks scored – 394

I got a calling letter to join Kisumu Girls. But the chance could just fly past because my mother, a salonist, lacks the financial ability to support my secondary education. I’ve been helping her. But we have collected so little, far from the over Sh100,000 required for fees. Please help.

[email protected]