Bright slum girl fails to join Form One for lack of school fees

A bright and needy girl from Nairobi’s Mukuru Kwa Njenga slum is yet to join Form One, a week after the deadline set by Education ministry elapsed.

With 364 marks scored in last year’s KCPE examinations, Diana Mutheu was assured of joining a good school. She had been admitted to Mt Kinangop Girls Secondary School, but lack of school fees has forced her to stay home.

“We applied for the Nairobi County bursary, but we were not successful. Had I got the bursary, I would be in school right now,” Diana said at the Nation Centre on Friday. The 15-year-old girl was accompanied by a family friend as her mother was busy at work. She said her mother, who cleans houses to support her three children, is not able to raise her secondary school fees.

Diana was at Siloam Education Centre for her primary school education. She played football and netball and her headteacher, in her school leaving certificate, described Diana as a “neat and well behaved girl”.

Diana, who scored scored straight As in mathematics and science, dreams of being a pilot. However, her dreams to fly the skies may not take off, if she does not find the Sh15,485 to pay for this term’s school fees.  “If someone were to help me get education, I would study without looking back. I would focus only on the future so that I can achieve my dreams,” Diana told the Nation.