A 2022 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) student, Allan Wafula, resorted to mending shoes at Ksh10 after failing to secure funds for his secondary school education.
Wafula stated that he sat the national exams for the second time in 2022, after failing to raise school fees for advanced studies.
The student noted that his father could not raise money to fund his high school education as he did not have a steady source of income.
Additionally, the student explained that while pursuing his primary level of education, he had to work as a cobbler to pay for his fees and help his family raise money for food.
“I have been returning to school after doing the first KCPE exams. My parents are struggling to feed my siblings and I.
“I was studying while doing this job to raise my fees and get money for food,” Wafula stated.
The student noted that he had tried securing scholarships, including the government scholarship Elimu fund, but was not selected for the funding.
“When I did KCPE for the first time, I tried to secure the Elimu scholarship but I was not selected. I decided to do the KCPE exams a second time and applied for the scholarship but I did not get it,” the student explained.
Wafula pleaded with well-wishers to help him pay his fees, adding that he would work hard and fulfil his dreams.
The student’s father, Fred Wafula, who works as a porter, stated that he struggled to provide for his eight children and wife, who was jobless.
Fred explained that he encouraged his son to sit for the national exams for the second time to allow him more time to raise funds.
“I have tried to take him to school, but I have not been able to save enough money. I have eight children, and the others are younger than him.
“My job is unpredictable. There are days when I don’t get any money, and sometimes it is too little even to feed my family,” Fred explained.
Cases of students unable to secure funding for their education have been on the rise, from Martha Gesare and Robinson Masinde, who were forced to repeat class eight.
To ensure a 100 percent transition of primary school students to high school, the government, in June 2022, launched the National Elimu Fund, mandated to regulate, mobilise, disperse, and manage all education grants and scholarships.
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE
