Day secondary schools have placed a foot in the national exam podium after producing quite a number that will go to university against all odds.
An example is Gachatha Day Secondary School in Gichugu which has quickly come to the limelight with 21 students scoring above C+, top student Ngigi Shelmith Murugi, a girl, getting an impressive B+.
Gachatha principal Peter Wabuiya admitted that majority of the students joined the school with between 220 and 250 marks.
And in most cases, their parents are unable to take them to boarding school due to financial constraints. The last and perhaps the only option for them is day school.
He said this class of learners is just as bright as their boarding counterparts, only that they come from less privileged settings.
“I have been to many day secondary schools and I will point out that most bright students are disadvantaged; majority come to school without breakfast, and others just like to come to school knowing they will get something to eat and drink,” he said.
As a humble suggestion, he asks the government to increase capitation so that these children can be fed before going back home in the evening.
He also feels that schools can be categorized so that they compete fairly on the same level.
Kirimunge in Kirinyaga Central had two sets of twins who managed to score highly and join university.
Davis Njoka and Dennis Muthii got A- while Alice Wangui and Ann Wanjiku averaged B Plain each.
For the pairs, trekking to school daily did not exhaust their heels in the desire to excel.
“We used to trek for kilometres to our school but that did not kill our dream to excel,” one of the girls stated.
Their story attests to what Wabuiya observed.
Having been admitted to Kerugoya Boys and Kianyaga High schools respectively, the boys’ mother Millicent Wangui could not afford the fees and requirements and so she enrolled them in the day school.
They did not disappoint.
By Caroline Wangechi
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