Student who missed classes to attend to ailing mother scores A in KCSE

In 2024, an old kitchen was home for Ng’ang’a Paul Njoroge as he navigated his education journey.

Njoroge, 20, crossed his fingers when Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba announced the 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination results on Thursday.

Moments later when he accessed his results, it was a great delight for Njoroge and his teachers after they discovered that he was not only the best student in his school but also in Kandara Sub-County.

He was among the 1,693 candidates who scored A (plain) in the 2024 KCSE and his eyes are set on joining the University of Nairobi to study Bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery.

Having scored A of 82 points, Njoroge was also the best student in day school category in Murang’a South, which covers Kandara, Kigumo, Gatanga and Maragua and the third best boy in the county.

He was a student at Kangui Secondary School, a sub county day school and to say that resilience and hard work pays off is an understatement.

But coming from a humble background, Njoroge is worried that he may not achieve his dreams of joining university.

He was forced to miss school on several occasions to take care of his ailing mother, who was in and out of hospital but lost the battle in 2022. He only discovered later that his mother died from cancer.

Njoroge is the fourth born of six siblings and the only one left to take care of his mother but this did not deter him from working hard in school.

“Most of the time, I was the one taking care of my mother and so I had to stay at home with her. She did not want us to know what the problem was because she did not want to worry us but I later discovered after reading some of her medical reports that she was battling cancer,” he said.

As fate would have it, a new principal, Samuel Ithandi was posted in January 2024 to Kangui Secondary.

It was then that Ithandi was told about Njoroge's case and asked him if he needed assistance.

Luckily, the principal accepted Njroroge's request to move into an old kitchen within the school as arrangements were made to ensure that he gets food and other necessities.

“When I was informed about Njoroge’s story, I knew that I had to do something. I got the extra blankets, bed and mattress I had and allowed him to stay in the old kitchen. He was able to stay and study as the rest of the students went home after school every day even during the holidays,” the principal told the Standard.

Ithandi said that Njoroge was provided with breakfast prepared for teachers who report to school early and other meals.

“Even some of the education officials were aware this was happening. We explained to them that we were trying to save a dire situation because we knew if the boy was released out there, he would not have been able to realize his education goals,” he explained.

But after sitting KCSE, Njoroge had to vacate the kitchen that he called home.

When his mother died, he lived with his paternal grandmother. But she also passed on and he had to move to his maternal grandmother’s home, who also depend on menial jobs to survive.

Currently, he is working as a boda boda rider and in most cases, he says he goes home without a penny.

“Business is not doing so well and at times I’m only able to buy lunch and supper and that’s it. There are times I go home with about Sh200 and aside from the daily expenditure, it is still the money I would want to save up in preparation for my university education,” he said.

Although he has heard of funding in institutions of higher funding, Njoroge says he is afraid that in the event that he does not get full support, he will not be able to study unless he gets proper support or sponsorship.

The principal said they intend to reach out to various leaders and organisations to assist Njoroge pursue his dreams.