Brilliant Girl With 405 KCPE Marks Fails to Join High School, Resort to Stone-Crashing
Sera Kauchi Naftali, a sixteen-year-old girl from Magarini Sub County in Kilifi County, is working as a stone-crasher to pay for her education and help feed her family.
Although she scored 405 marks, a good result in the area, Sera has lost all hope of attending Moi Girls High School in Isinya, where she was accepted to study, due to a lack of funds.
Despite applying for scholarships, she has received no financial support, and neither she nor her mother, Mariam Rodgers, can earn enough from stone-crashing to cover the costs of food and education.
Journalists found Sera working at a quarry near her former school, putting on a brave face, but deeply troubled by her situation. Sera and her mother have made an appeal for aid, as have some of Sera’s former classmates.
Mary Kulola Gilbert and Esther Wanyinya, who scored well in their exams, have also been unable to go to school due to the costs involved. Human rights activist Justin Kitonyo has warned that the lack of education will exacerbate Kilifi County’s problems with teenage pregnancies and early marriage.
Kilifi County is located in Kenya’s coastal region and has a population of approximately 1.3 million people. It is considered one of the poorest counties in the country, with many families living below the poverty line.
The county has a large youth population and a high unemployment rate, particularly among young people. The issue of lack of education due to financial constraints is a growing concern across Kenya.
Although the government has introduced free primary education, many families struggle to afford the costs of secondary school. According to some reports, an estimated 300,000 children fail to attend secondary school each year due to the lack of funds.
In response, NGOs and private organisations have set up scholarship programmes to help students stay in education. Equity Bank’s Wings to Fly, which Sera applied to, is one such scheme.
However, such organisations face overwhelming demand and cannot provide for everyone in need. As a result, the gap in education between those who can afford it and those who cannot is widening, with potentially disastrous consequences for young people across the country.
Brilliant Girl With 405 KCPE Marks Fails to Join High School, Resort to Stone-Crashing