Decade of trying hands man KCSE triumph

By FREDRICK OBURA

When the Minister for Education Sam Ongeri released last year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results, it was jubilation for Fredrick Muriithi of Karura Secondary School.

Muriithi, 32, scored 83 points, earning a mean grade of ‘A’ from the little known school in Kiambu County.

He defied all odds, including age, to sit the exam last year after a record 12-year break. His first KCSE stab was in 1998 when he scored C+ and failed to get admission to a public university. He could also not raise money to enrol at a tertiary institution.

Fredrick Muriithi during the interview. [PHOTO: WILBERFORCE OKWIRI/STANDARD]

Thereafter, he failed to secure a decent job with his Form Four certificate. Moved by his own plight, Muriithi resolved to get back to school in 2010 to enroll in Form Three so that he could pick up and get better grades.

This time, he passed the national examinations with flying colours and now wants to be a plastic surgeon to meet Kenya’s deficiency in the profession.

"I first sat my KCSE exams in 1998 and as an average student, I scored ‘C+’. The grade did not earn me any decent life. I had missed the required entry point to the university and no company could offer me a employment," he says.

University ultimate goal

Muriithi says he engaged in manual jobs at coffee plantations to fend for his siblings and help parents meet their budgetary requirements.

Muriithi says in 2003, he was admitted to Uganda’s Bugema University to study Education – English literature option. Through the help of his relatives, he raised Sh40,000 for the first semester’s fees.

"The money took care of my first year at the university. I could, however, not proceed thereafter due to lack of funds. Not even part time jobs at the university garden could raise enough money to see me through the course," he told The Standard On Saturday.

In 2004, he returned home dejected and landed another casual job at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, at the cargo division.

The job, which involved packing flowers, vegetables and fruits for export, did not last long following adverse weather that had affected the horticultural sub-sector.

After 12 years out of school and no better reception from the world, he joined Karura Secondary School in 2010 in Form Three. His ultimate goal was to make it to the university.

Scored nearly all As

"I am happy and thankful to my teachers for encouraging me when I returned to school," he says, adding: "It was embarrassing sitting in class with students half my age but I am glad I have made it."

Muriithi scored As in the subjects he was examined. "I want to study medicine at the university," he says.

He says the desire to study medicine matured in him in 2009 after the Sachang’wan oil tanker fire tragedy, where scores were killed and many injured.

"It was a pity surgeons were invited from other countries to attend to the victims of the fire tragedy. I want to study plastic surgery to serve my country," he says.

Muriithi says the profession would also be ideal because it will allow him to practice in old age to compensate for the long time he spent in school.

Muriithi, who plans to wed next month, says he is preparing for his undergraduate studies.

On April 22, Muriithi will be wedding Mary at Kawakwa Seventh Day Adventist Church in Nyeri.

The two met at Bugema University in 2003.

"I met Mary in 2003 when she studying for a diploma in social studies. We re-united after KCSE exams. I feel I can run a family and work for my degree course at the same time," he says.