For the past three years, a student who received an A- in the 2019 KCSE examinations has been ineligible to pursue further education.
Nehemiah Koech was one of over 500,000 applicants who sat for the 2019 KCSE examinations; he aspired to be a cardiologist.
However, with his sick parents unable to finance a college education, his ambition of enrolling in a university and pursuing that much sought professional path has faded.
When Citizen Digital visited him, he was in the middle of repairing a septic tank; it’s one of the odd jobs he does in addition to his job as a security guard.
These are hardly the tools a prospective cardiologist would want to use after achieving extraordinarily well in national examinations.
Nehemiah benefited from the Cooperative Bank student sponsorship program while attending Baringo Boys High School.
“After I got my results I was supposed to go to St. Pauls University to study Computer Science. But when I went to the bank to see if they would sponsor me, the bank said the funds for sponsorship beyond high school had dried up due to COVID-19,” says Nehemiah.
He was persistent, however, reaching out to every connection possible; this quickly turned into a series of promises and dead ends.
“I tried to talk to people who would connect me to the MCAs. Every person I would reach out to would commit to do something but not actually complete the journey,” he says.
Nehemiah’s visits to different institutions from the Ministry of Education county headquarters in Eldoret all the way to the Office of the Governor proved futile.
“So I decided to get a job. I found someone who had some rentals and needed a watchman. They agreed to pay me Ksh.200 a day. I also do some odd jobs so I don’t remain idle,” he narrates.
That comes to Ksh.6,000 a month, which Nehemiah hopes will help support his three younger sisters who are in need of funds for school as well.
Despite all this, his dream to one day become a cardiologist hasn’t died.
“I don’t feel good, but I still work hard and I still have that hope that something will change,” he adds.
Until that change comes, Nehemiah does what he can to put food on the table and secure a better future for his siblings.
