A Form One student who is yet to join high school due to lack of fees has gone on a hunger strike.
The mother of the 15-year-old Ian Kibet, who lives in the informal settlements of Kaptembwa in Nakuru county, confirmed that her son has gone on a hunger strike after the family failed to raise school fees for him to join secondary school.
She noted that she earns Ksh200 daily from her laundry services and this is not enough to feed the family and take the boy - who has gone for five days without food - to school.
"He refuses to eat because he has not reported to Form One. He says he will not abandon the hunger strike protest until he joins Form One," she explained, adding that she was worried about his health.
"I wash clothes in the neighbouring Shabab Estate and I earn Ksh200 per day. Sometimes I don't get any job and that means going hungry."
Kibet's mother noted that she had applied for a bursary at the Nakuru West constituency office but with no luck.
"I've tried everything. I've applied for a bursary at the Nakuru West constituency office but I have not been successful. I applied for the Elimu and Wings to Fly scholarships but my son was not lucky for reasons I don't understand as the assessment committees came to my single room, did the interviews and saw our condition," she stated.
Kibet, who also spoke to the media, expressed fears that his chance of joining Mama Ngina Secondary School in Rongai - where he was called - are dwindling by the day.
"It's now exactly one month since my colleagues reported to Form One on May 4. I'm still at home. My mum keeps telling me she is praying hard. I have patiently waited for her prayers to be answered since I downloaded my admission letter.
"I'm tired of staying at home doing nothing and being asked by my neighbours and my schoolmates why I have not reported to the school," Kibet told the press.
Kibet is among 1.2 million candidates who sat for the 2021 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE). The candidates were placed in the 8,933 public schools and with some getting admission to a section of the 1,554 private institutions.
To help the government achieve the 100 per cent transmission to high school, CS Geoge Magoha called for school heads to allow needy students to report without school uniforms.
