There was a twist of events when it was established that a girl whose grandmother had successfully appealed for assistance, claiming she was an orphan set to join form one was neither one, nor did she want to join secondary school.
After the plight of Maureen Chepngeno, the girl from Chepkosa village within the outskirts of Bomet was highlighted, officers from the Ministry of Education reached out to her through the assistance of the local administrators to facilitate her to join one.
However, the area Assistant Chief Samson Ng’etich established that some of the information that Chepngeno and her grandmother Sarah Keter had offered was grossly distorted and incorrectly structured to easily get sympathy from well-wishers.
It turned out that Chepngeno was not an orphan as she had both parents who reside in Nakuru County, but had left the responsibilities of raising the girl to the grandmother.
On the other hand, after Chepngeno was admitted at Saint Michael Secondary School, she opened up saying that she neither knows how to write nor read instructions written in English.
“I don’t know how to read and write. It will be very hard for me to move on with secondary education,” she said.
Christopher Sitienei, the School Principal instructed her to write the name of the school, which she immensely failed prompting officers who were present to inquire more about the unfolding scenario considering the grandmother had appealed for help.
Chepngeno explained that it was her grandmother’s idea that she joins secondary school but her personal wish was to join vocational training.
She requested to be admitted to a polytechnic to pursue a course in beauty and hairdressing, instead of joining high school.
“I am so sorry, I have wasted your efforts to ensure that I am admitted in form one, I was not ready, it was my grandmother’s idea, despite her raising me and her willingness to have me join secondary school, I am not in a position to read and write in English properly,” explained Chepngeno.
She pleaded, “I am requesting our area chief and everyone here to assist me in joining one of the technical institutes to pursue a course in hairdressing and beauty”.
Using the resources that had already been raised to have her join high school, she was accompanied by chief Ngetich to Kabisoge Technical and Vocational Training Institution where she was admitted to pursue her dream course.
Chepngeno’s basic needs, uniforms and other expenses were also catered for and she is now happily in class.
By Lamech Arisa
