Meru Boy's dreams dimmed by nullification of admission letter

Franklyn Mutethia who sat for his KCPE last year at Meru Primary School and attained 383 marks with his father Dennis Gitonga at his former school on January 3, 2019 when he had come to get his admission letter signed by the headteacher. [Olivia Murithi, Standard]

When Franklyn Mutethia received his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination results late last year, he was overjoyed.

He had scored 383 marks from Meru Primary School. But that joy was short-lived and the boy’s future now seems bleak as he is one of the students affected by the Ministry of Education’s directive nullifying admission letters issued by headteachers.

But Mutethia’s parents, who are casual labourers, say they can’t afford his schooling at the St Patrick’s High School Iten and had to look for an alternative.

“I used to study until late in the night and I was very excited at first when I received a national school admission letter but when my parents told me I could not go, I felt bad but I understood because I know we do not have the money,” he says.

His father Dennis Gitonga approached the principal of a local school and sought admission for his son, which he was granted. “Fees at St Patrick’s High School is higher, and we have to spend a lot of money to travel,” he says.

However, Mutethia and his father are now in a dilemma. The ministry’s tough stance may leave them with no alternative.

Gitonga is at a loss because all other channels of obtaining enough money to take his son to his dream school have hit a snag.

“Annual school fees at St Patrick’s is Sh57,000 and due to the distance we would require almost about Sh10,000 more to travel there and back. The annual school fees at the local school is Sh41,000,” he says.

Mutethia unsuccessfully applied for the Equity Bank’s Wings to Fly scholarship, and was told by the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) officials that bursary disbursements are made in second term.