Age is just a number, this granny proves as she sits KCPE at 75

Rachael Muthoni
              Rachael Muthoni with pupils from Njoro

By VINCENT MABATUK

Rachael Muthoni, 75, eloped with her boyfriend and got married while in Standard Seven.

More than five decades later, Muthoni sought to correct the ‘mistake’ that saw her drop out of school.

The septuagenarian was among over 840,000 candidates sitting this year’s KCPE, which ended yesterday.

Muthoni dropped out of school a year after Kenya attained independence, then in her 20s, and returned in 2011 where she joined Standard Six as a private candidate at Naishi Adult’s School in Njoro District.

Yesterday, after completing her last paper - Social Studies - the mother of eight broke into dance and song.

She emerged from the examination room side by side with her classmate Pharis Kuria, 13.

The young boy said the grandmother’s quest to attain education encouraged him.

“It was a fair paper. Everything that I was taught by my teachers was examined almost in all the five examination papers. I am sure of joining Form One next year,” said Muthoni, who prefers Njoro Girls Secondary School.

The grandmother to 17 children was one of the 76 senior candidates sitting for KCPE in Njoro District.

Challenges of old age

Dressed in civilian clothes, a red sweater, a black and white dress and black rubber shoes, Muthoni said she decided to go back to school after she was unable to communicate with her children in Kiswahili or English.

She wants to become an activist so that she can defend the rights of women. Most of her teachers were the age of her children, but she gave them maximum respect even when reprimanded.  Muthoni is confident of performing well in the exams despite the challenges of old age.

Each morning, she woke up to prepare breakfast and lunch for her aging husband Leonard Mbugua, 80, before embarking on her studies in the dining room.

They are living alone as their adult children, six boys and two girls, are with their families in different towns.

Four of them are university graduates and two are employed as secondary school teachers. “If in any case I find my way to one of their schools, why should I not be happy to share with them that knowledge they gained through my efforts,” she observed.

The woman, who hails from Lari village in Njoro, said she is happy to have seen her children go through education uninterrupted.

Her children were calling her everyday to encourage and appreciate her. She listed Maths and Kiswahili as her favourite subjects, but said English gave her headaches.

“The mathematics of today and the one I studied years back are worlds apart,” said the grandmother, holding a geometrical set and a clipboard.

Muthoni is the one who prayed for her fellow students everyday before exams began.

During the three days she sat exams, she would prepare for her husband supper and then study from 9pm to 11pm.

“The problem was that I did not have anyone to discuss class work with because my husband dropped out of school while in Standard Eight many years ago and he does not remember anything about learning,” she said.

Samuel Karanja, Muthoni’s teacher for the past three years, describes her as hard working, disciplined and a counsellor to fellow pupils.

Joan Githinji, Njoro DEO described her as hard working and an encouragement to the younger generation.

Muthoni encouraged school dropouts not to lose faith and instead return to the classroom, since education has no age limit. “I cried when I saw the old woman tackle her exams on the first day. My eyes could not believe what I witnessed,” said the DEO. She added that 75 adult candidates sat KCSE at the AIC Secondary School in the same district.

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