Close to 60 students from the KCSE class of 1992 at Gathiruini Secondary school recently paid their former principal a surprise visit at his home in a bid to show gratitude for teaching them 28 years ago.
The alumni described the former principal, Gabriel Gaitho, as a disciplinarian who did not shy to tell the students when they made mistakes.
In addition, they praised him saying that he was a teacher who was committed and passionate about his work.
"Most of us were able to join campus and people were surprised. In fact, people started scrambling to come to Gathiruini after that," one of the students told TV47.
"He nurtured my thinking and that is why I came to like history. Today, I am enrolled in a university, pursuing my masters' degree," another weighed in.
On his part, the 86-year-old Gaitho indicated that he was happy to see that his students had turned out to be academic giants.
"I was very strict, very firm and a disciplinarian but someone who was doing what they are required to do, I was very good to him or to her and that is why they remember but those who did not make it, may not be very happy," the teacher stated.
For 12 years, Gaitho was a primary school teacher before he moved to college to further his education and was later attached to Gathiruini Secondary school.
Gaitho advises teachers to take their jobs seriously and take every opportunity available to learn and acquire more information.
"When I meet my former students and I see the way they receive me, or when I learn that they are doing well in life, I feel like it is the best reward," Gaitho concluded.
Gaitho's feting came months after a Kenyan teacher from Changamwe Secondary School made it to the top 50 shortlisted candidates for the 2020 Global Teachers Prize (GTP).
Linah Anyango has been shortlisted for her efforts in making a positive impact in the lives of students in marginalized schools, using both education and cultural means.
