Meet resolute candidates who defied all odds to emerge top in KCSE

While the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted learning for all students, these candidates had other obstacles stacked against them. But they still posted sterling results to earn top ranking in the country. Here are their stories of hard work, discipline, resilience and sheer determination. 

Girl excels despite tutor shortage, the result of Shabaab attacks

The top KCSE female candidate in Mandera Rahma Ibrein Ibrahim’s story is that  of determination, perseverance and self-motivation.

In this part of the country plagued by Al-Shabaab terrorist attacks targeting teachers from other parts of Kenya, keeping schools open can be difficult. But there is a bigger challenge — preparing students for the national exam that determines their eligibility for university entry.

Rahma, who was a candidate at Takaba Girls, says the biting teacher shortage  across the county left her with only one option —  to strive to excel. “Scoring a B+ (plus) of 68 points in the current situation in Mandera has not been easy. We don’t have enough teachers in our school and the environment is also unforgiving,” she said.

She chose to work hard in school, seeking assistance from learners in different schools. “I have been prayerful and my parents accorded me all the support I needed in my academics. Hard work and patience pays,” she said.

Rahma wants to pursue a course in medicine, and she prays that coming from a disadvantaged background, the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service will consider her.  Educational stakeholders in the county had expressed fear of poor performance in KCSE due to acute teacher shortage. “If the gap in the teaching fraternity in Mandera is filled, then the ground will be levelled for competition with other schools countrywide,” Rahma said.

He fainted during the exams

Candidates at Isiolo Barracks Secondary had just been issued with the Mathematics Paper I exam on March 29 at 8am when Abdi Mohammed Warsame collapsed, causing panic.

He was rushed to the school’s health centre unconscious, where he was attended to. He regained consciousness minutes later and was allowed back into the exam room. Mohammed scored an A (plain) in mathematics and an A- (minus) of 76 points, to earn the best student honours in Isiolo.

Having  scored a B (plain) in the exam prior to the KCSE one, the 17-year-old was hopeful he would improve in the national exams. And he did, nearly breaking the county’s record set in 2014 by Mohammed Jillo of Isiolo Boys High School, who got an A- of 78 points.

“I was so happy when I saw that I had got an A- (Minus) because it is the grade I always prayed for. I thank God for the performance,” said Mohammed, who scored 291 marks in KCPE at Dida Abakiri Primary School in 2016. He attributed his success to hard work, saying he used to spend most of his time at home studying and that he also prayed a lot.

“I used to wake up early to study before preparing to leave for school. I spent all the weekends with my friends revising and was determined to post better results,” he noted.

His guardian, Mr Abdi Abdullahi, said: “I never expected he would attain A- (Minus). I am so happy that his hard work has paid off.”

Mohammed intends to study medicine when he joins university so that he can educate his siblings and support his family.

Isiolo Barracks  principal Fredrick Gitonga Bundi said Mohammed’s performance was a great improvement from the 2019s when the first student got a B- (minus).

Not even cancer could hold Miriam back

Miriam Chepleting, who had her right leg amputated due to cancer, has every reason to smile.

The 18-year-old was singled out for praise by Education CS George Magoha after she scored top marks countrywide in the special needs category. Chepleting, who sat the exams at Moi Girls’ High School Eldoret, scored an A of 84.886 points.

She attributed her sterling performance to her friends and teachers for supporting her to manage daily chores at school. “I’m really happy. I wasn’t expecting good results,  but I thank God,” Chepleting said.

In 2015, her leg was amputated after she was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer.

She recounts that in 2014 while in Standard Six, she had mild pain in her right leg which later turned into severe pain. She  was diagnosed with stage one bone cancer at the Aga Khan Hospital. In 2015, the cancer had progressed, and doctors at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital decided to amputate her right leg.

Now, six years later, Chepleting wants to pursue a degree in medicine and specialise in oncology, the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Albinism: How Nyeri siblings overcame stigma to shine in national exams

Caroline Mwangi, who has albinism, topped in Nyeri with an A- of 76 points.

Her mother,  Regina Mwangi, has defied the odds as a ‘special mum’ to surprise friends and foes in the sleepy Thogori village, Nyeri County. A

s a mother of three children with albinism in a conservative society, raising such a family is not for the weak.

Ms Mwangi, however, gathered strength to inspire her children.

Caroline’s sister, Eveline Wambui, had topped in the county in the 2019 examinations with a B+ of 73 points.

Both girls schooled at Mahiga Girls High. In 2012, their brother scored a B+ at Nkubu Boys High School in Meru.

From zero to hero:  Dennis lifts spirits in Bomet

Dennis Bett was the laughing stock of his village four years ago. But now he’s the talk of town.

A disastrous performance in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exams in 2016 made him the butt of jokes when he came at the tail end with 190 marks.

At Maaset Primary School in Bomet, he was considered a failure. But he picked himself up and vowed to turn the flop into an opportunity to change his life.

When he joined Kimargis Secondary School in Bomet Central, he was determined to take control of his destiny,  and he thus decided to work hard.

“I knew why I had failed in KCPE so I was sure of what to do to change the results in high school. I worked hard and consulted my teachers regularly,” Mr Bet told the Nation.

The outcome of his hard work became visible early in high school when he started topping the class.

By the time he was in Form Two, he was among the best students. The principal, Mr Stephen Kirui, said Bet was a disciplined boy who was punctual in school and did his assignments on time.

Four years later, Bet enjoyed the fruits of his work when Education CS George Magoha said he was the most improved student. He topped the class with a B – (minus).

“I am excited after achieving a grade I always wished for. I thank my teachers and parents for the support they gave me during the entire period,” said Mr Bet, who wants to pursue a teaching career.

“I also want to help other young minds to achieve their dreams just like I was assisted by my teachers,” he added.

Rising above tough life, hearing impairment

Dadaab in Garissa County is known for tough life and a sprawling camp that hosts over 200,000 refugees.  Gedi Secondary, which is located inside the camp, posted impressive results in the KCSE exams.

Abdikadir Salat Mohamed from Ifo camp was the best candidate in the entire North Eastern Region after scoring an A minus of 79 points in this year’s KCSE exams. His parents settled at the camp after fleeing from war-torn Somalia.

“I am delighted to have emerged the best in North Eastern despite the many odds we have encountered,” said Mohamed.

Mohamed, unlike many other candidates who want to join local universities, has his eyes fixed on Canada. “I want to study software engineering in a university somewhere in Canada,” he said.

Another student who posted impressive grades is Abdimalik Isack, with hearing impairment. 

He was in Standard Seven when his ears started aching. The boy from a family of nine joined Isiolo Boys in 2017 hoping the pain he experienced occasionally would go but it resulted in hearing impairment.

Isack scored B (plain) in  KCSE to earn best candidate rating in his school.

A clear vision to excel amid an eye disorder

Edgar Omoke Getugi cannot see the world around him clearly, but that didn’t stop him from chasing his dreams.

The former Kisii High School scored a clean A of 81 points, the second best in the country under the special needs category.

Edgar has a vision disorder known as keratoconus, which occurs when the normally round cornea – the front part of the eye – becomes thin and irregular (cone) shaped.

The eye problems began when he was in Standard Three and he has been struggling with low vision ever since. In high school, he could not read what teachers wrote on the blackboard.

As a result, teachers gave him special tutorials after lessons so he could catch up with the rest of the class.

“My teachers would call me after classes and take me through what they had taught. I thank them very much for they did not get tired. I thank God for the good results,” Edgar, 18, told the Nation. His father, Mr Rodgers Getugi, is a primary school teacher who has been struggling to raise funds for his son’s medication.

“We’ve been to different hospitals for screening and we were advised that for my son’s surgery, we need Sh300, 000 for each eye,” said Mr Getugi. He appealed for help from well-wishers.

Prudence’s focus trumped her eyesight challenge

When Prudence Nyambura Warunge’s left eye suddenly shut down before she could sit her biology and mathematics papers, she almost panicked. 

She took some medication to help relieve the pain and sat down to rest, hoping all would be well soon enough for her to continue studying for her national examinations like the rest of the students in her class.

This was not to be. The excruciating pain persisted and she had to go home to see a doctor. Prudence, from St Anne’s Lioki Secondary School in Kiambu, is now all smiles. She scored an A- of 78 points and was ranked fifth among students with special needs.

Prudence developed eyesight problems when she was in Standard Five and a doctor prescribed glasses. Her eyesight, however, deteriorated when she was in Form One and she complained that she could not see objects that were far away from her.  She went for specialised eye treatment and the doctors realised she had both myopia and amblyopia. 

Myopia is a condition where objects that are close by appear clearly, but those that are far do not, while amblyopia – also known as lazy eye – is a condition characterised by decreased eyesight in one eye due to abnormal visual development.

She had to get specialised glasses from India to be able to see the blackboard or read textbooks. This was a huge challenge for her and her parents as a pair went for Sh40,000.  She said she had a tough time in school but she is thankful her efforts paid off. 

“I missed so many lessons because I could attend only a few classes to avoid straining my eyes as this would lead to pain. I struggled understanding subjects like mathematics that need one to see calculations and are difficult to understand only by listening,” she said.