KCPE top performers push stellar show to high school
Harrison Kivisu Irene Githinji and KNA
Form is temporary, class is permanent, so the age old saying goes.
While most of the 2016 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations stars fell by the wayside and were nowhere to be seen when Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha released the 2020 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams results on Monday, some of them maintained their prowess.
Yesterday, several stars of the 2016 KCPE exams revealed to People Daily the secrets to sustaining their excellent performance four years down the line.
Interestingly, they all share one passion, perhaps the driving force behind their academic excellence, to study medicine.
The top 2020 KCSE candidate, Simiyu Robin Wanjala of Murang’a High School, is among the students who have maintained the stellar performance.
Wanjala attained a mean grade of A plain of 87.3 mean grade to beat 747,160 others, who sat the exam.
At his home in Nairobi, it was song and dance when Wanjala received the news as he could hardly believe when his name was read out as the best candidate countrywide.
“I would like to pursue medicine… I want to become an oncologist. Much as I used to perform well all my years in school, there were times I could flip-flop but when I got to Form 4, I tried to be consistent,” he said.
Wanjala scored 409 marks in his KCPE exam at Gachie Primary School.
Bring change
Another top performer is Jaden Angella, 16, a former pupil at Ganjoni Primary School.
She was the best student in 2016 KCPE exams in the Coast region after scoring 419 marks out of the possible 500.
Thereafter, she joined Alliance Girls High School in 2017 and now she has emerged among the top performers in the country.
It was a fulfilling moment for Angella, a resident of Kiembeni in Mombasa, when Prof Magoha read out her name among the top students.
Angella, who was position 14 in the category of 16-year-olds, who sat for the 2020 KCSE exams, scored an A (plain) of 84.6 points.
“I felt very good when the CS mentioned my name as among the best performing young students.
My dream is to become a neurosurgeon. I want to thank my parents for playing a very critical role in facilitating my studies,” said Angella.
Despite the slow down by Covid-19, she said that she studied hard because she was determined to achieve her dreams and now believes she will bring change in the society when she achieves her dreams.
“I learned to manage my time well, reading widely and seeking guidance from teachers.
I must say the motivation I got after performing well in my KCPE kept me going to maintain the status,” said Angella.
Her mother, Mary Tracy said her wish is to get a scholarship for her daughter to study in the university of her dreams since she is economically challenged to fulfill the dream of her first-born daughter.
“I am appealing to well-wishers to help my daughter get a scholarship to study abroad, my daughter is a very obedient, hard working and intelligent girl, who is determined to bring change in the society when she completes her medicine degree,” said Tracy.
Another top performer in the 2016 KCPE exam and 2020 KCSE exam is Ashraf Mohamed.
Ashraf, 18, maintained his stellar performance and emerged best candidate at Memon High School in Mvita, also becoming one of the best candidates in Mombasa.
Covid-19 pandemic
In his KCPE exams four years ago, Ashraf scored 413 marks to emerge among the top candidates in Mombasa while in KCSE, he scored an A plain of 81 points.
Ashraf, a Tononoka resident, attributed his success to hard work and good relations with teachers.
“My father is a business man while my mother is a teacher, they have brought me up well and I must attribute that success to discipline and hard work,” said Ashraf yesterday.
Teachers at the school led by Zainab Ali described Ashraf as a hard working student, who was determined to pass in exams.
Joseph Joachim Gicheru from Garissa county, who was among the top 100 students at Alliance High School is nothing but ecstatic over his impressive performance.
Gicheru, 17, scored an A plain of 83 points to become the top student in North Eastern region.
Gicheru, who scored 430 marks in KCPE said while he was not surprised by the good grades, he did not expect to be among the top students in the country.
Speaking from his home in Madogo, Tana River, a visibly delighted Gicheru, said the journey has been tough, especially with the Covid-19 pandemic that forced them stay at home longer and studying on their own did not make things any better.
Study medicine
Gicheru said he wants to study medicine at the University of Nairobi.
“Since I was a child, I have always liked children. I have had this passion of one day becoming a pediatrician. You feel happy when a patient recovers,” he said.
Gicheru, the second born in a family of two had a message of hope to children studying in North Eastern that they can always become what they want in life if they work hard the challenges they encounter notwithstanding.
“My good grades should inspire those still in school, especially in North Eastern that in life, it doesn’t matter your background or the school you attended. All that matters is the effort you put in and remaining focused. And as always, God will reward you,” he said.
His parents, John Thuo, a cleric at ACK church and Jane Wambui, a housewife could not hide their joy and were thankful to God and teachers for guiding their son to post good grades.
“We are very happy. We pray to God to continue guiding him as he starts his next journey at the university. It’s our prayer that God fulfils his dreams, and he becomes an important person in the society,” said Wambui.
In Kabarnet, Isaiah Kiplagat Aengwo, who was position seven nationally in KCPE four years ago has again registered glittering performance in KCSE.
Aengwo, from little-known Kapkokorwo Estate in the outskirts of Kabarnet scored having 430 marks in KCPE has reaffirmed his academic prowess by scoring A plain of 83 points at Kapsabet Boys High School.
He said he was expecting good results since he had put in a lot of effort and received immense support from his parents, teachers, friends and school administration.
“I sacrificed a lot of my sleep to read late into the night and was always the first person to arrive in class in the morning and that has paid off,” he said.
