More than 50 learners from General Kago Primary School in Thika town set to join Form One have been gifted with boxes to help them carry clothes, books and other personal effects as they join various secondary schools.

The beneficiaries, most of them from Kiandutu slums in the town and who got more than 300 marks in the 2022 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam, could not hide their joy after they were presented with the boxes by the Mount Kenya University (MKU) students and staff to enable transit to secondary school.

Head teacher Jane Jeri said the donations marked “Donated by Mount Kenya University” will inspire not only the pupils joining Form One but also the continuing learners to aim for university studies. General Kago had 86 candidates sitting the KCPE exam last year and 30 of them attained more than 300 marks. “Among these, many need financial support,” she said.

Although some of the needy pupils come from the slums in Thika have benefited from well-wishers, many more who need help. 

“They need school uniforms, text books, stationery and other types of support,” she said.

Njeri said many children are not feeding well at home and it is only well-wishers who have been boosting the school’s feeding programme to keep the desperate pupils in class.

A parent, Purity Wangithi Mwangi, thanked the entire MKU fraternity for their good gesture and prayed that the partnership will continue going forward.

“We also thank God for touching the hearts of our neighbours and wish many others like them will come to support our children. We are relieved with the kind gesture because the boxes are expensive and unaffordable. We will now focus attention on footing other expenses to facilitate their children to join secondary school,” she said.

Purity said preparing the pupils to join Form One has been costly to parents from the slums, adding that some requirements may make it difficult for their children to get admitted. Our hope now is on the NG/CDF to give our children bursaries to go to school,” she said.

Peter Wanderi, the Principal Corporate Affairs at Mount Kenya University said education is the key to future of primary school learners.

“These pupils have done well in KCPE. We gave them the presents to let them know that they have caring neighbours. We are happy when we see them celebrating. We might not walk with each and every pupil, but we want to follow the beneficiaries in their secondary schools,” he said.

Wanderi said the country and the education sector has now returned to normalcy after the Covid-19 crisis of 2020-22.

“We appreciate efforts by the whole country - government, corporate entities, churches and individuals of good will - to ensure that all the pupils who finished Standard Eight last year transit to secondary school,” he said.