A student who excelled in the 2021 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam is pleading for help from well-wishers to join high school.
Hamdi Abikar Hassan, a student who defied all the odds after scoring 405 marks in the national exam emerged second in Mandera County.
She is the third born in a family of seven children. Hassan was raised by a single mother, Qulahi Mohamed, who struggled to keep her children in school.
The mother of seven does menial jobs to raise school fees and put food on the table for her family. During her time in school, Hassan would help her mother with her small business.
"It has not been easy to study at a private school, considering that we all depend on our mother who relies on menial jobs in the estate,” Hamdi said.
"Sometimes I spend time at my mother’s stall selling vegetables but I will still be with my books because I want the best for myself and my family.”
Hassan's mother also appealed to well-wishers to support her daughter, noting that her little business will not be sufficient to cater for high school fees and sustain the family's basic needs.
“I have nothing to sell or depend on for my children’s school fees. I appeal to well-wishers to help take my girl to the best school because I want my life to change too,” she remarked.
The headteacher of Alhuda Star Academy, where Hassan studied, attributed the school’s performance to hard work despite parents having a hard time paying school fees.
“We have always performed well but producing the best candidate in the county makes us proud,” the headteacher, Amos Barasa, stated.
“Most of the parents have problems paying school fees for their children and yet the school has to run and we have to pay teachers. But despite all that we still manage to perform well, because we are determined,” he added.
Students in the 2021 KCPE scored impressive marks across the country. Education Cabinet Secretary, George Magoha, remarked that 11,857 candidates scored above 400 marks in the exam compared to 8,091 in last year's exam.
