When results for the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results were being released, Monday morning, Eric Macharia, who emerged top candidate at Moi High School Mbiruri and in Embu County, was busy assisting her parents pick tea in their farm, as it has been the norm since he completed school.
Little did the 18-year-old boy from a humble background from Kenga Location in Manyata Constituency, know that he had performed exemplary until her mother went back to the house briefly and found that she had four missed calls on her phone that she had left behind from the school principal.
“I jumped up and down in joy after the school principal called again and told me I was the best candidate,” Macharia said, adding he never imagined he would emerge top ahead of 252 others in the school.
Macharia scored A plain of 84 points, which was a fete he had repeated after emerging top candidate in 2019 KCPE at Kianjokoma Primary School, where he garnered 414 marks.
His dream of proceeding to secondary school almost got cut short, after several of his scholarship applications failed, until a week before the admission date, when he secured one from Cooperative Bank.
Determined to impress his sponsor, Macharia remained focused and topped the first exam at the school, that saw teachers get interested in him and accorded him any support he required to maintain his performance.
True to the focus, the boy, who many times went without pocket money due to her parents’ financial handicap, scored straight A’s in all his subjects, emerging as the best candidate in the school.
Macharia, whose dream of becoming a medical doctor is now close to becoming a reality, attributed his success to hard work, discipline, and support from his parents and teachers.
Her elated mother, Ann Wawira, said that were it not for the sponsorship, she could not have managed to educate him due to financial hardships.
She said even after managing to secure the scholarship, many times the boy survived without pocket money, but kept encouraging him to remain focused in pursuit of a brighter future.
Nominated Member of the County Assembly (MCA) from the area, Yvonne Mate, encouraged well-wishers and other corporate bodies, to assist bright learners from poor backgrounds to realize their education and career dreams.
“It is through that scholarship that we now have a doctor in the making from our area,” she said.
The school principal, Patrick Nderitu, had nothing but praise for the boy, whom he termed as disciplined and hardworking.
He encouraged others from similar backgrounds to emulate him, saying he is a good example to others that they can still do well, regardless of their backgrounds.
Mr. Nderitu added that from the results they had analyzed so far, the school had produced eight straight A’s, 20 A-, 32 B+, and 42 B plain.
By Samuel Waititu
