There is a famous proverb that goes ‘fall down seven times, stand up eight’.
The proverb is a pretty good summary of the story of Moses Kabira Mutethia, who clinched an A plain in KCSE four years after registering 295 marks in KCPE.
This is his journey as told by WoK:
When Kabira sat for the 2016 KCPE exam, he scored 295 marks out of the possible 500.
His overall grade in the exam was a C plus.
A breakdown of his marks was as follows:
Kiswahili C plain, Mathematics B-, Science B -, English C+, and Social Studies and Religious Education C+.
Speaking in later interviews, he attributed the low marks to the numerous challenges he was facing at home.
He said that when he registered the low marks, some people laughed at him, telling him he would never be successful in life.
In fact, had someone predicted that at the age of 18, he would score an A plain in the subsequent KCSE exams, Kabira would probably have taken the prediction as an insult.
However, his parents encouraged him that he had another chance to prove his ability.
Because he hails from a region where miraa growing is the major economic activity, his parents encouraged him to put effort into his studies because miraa prices were going lower by the day.
They told him education was his only ticket to get himself and his family out of poverty.
Four years later, Kabira, who is an alumnus of Kanathu Primary School in Meru County, proved his parents right and surmounted all obstacles to achieve the highest grade one can achieve in KCSE.
He registered an A plain of 81 out of the possible 84 points, only dropping points in English and Kiswahili.
He sat the 2020 KCSE exams at Njia Boys High School in Igembe Central, Meru County.
He scored straight As in Biology, Mathematics, Physics, History and Government, and Business Studies. He registered an A- in Kiswahili and a B+ in English.
Secret to success
When asked how he managed to clinch an A plain, Kabira said he and his friends formed a study group during the build-up to the KCSE exam.
They met frequently despite the COVID restrictions that existed during the period.
He also credited the assistance from teachers of Njihia Boys High School, saying they helped him improve on his performance.
The school principal, Mr. Gitonga Imunya, allowed him to stay in school despite fee problems.
In subsequent media interviews, Kabira expressed his wish to pursue medicine at University.
However, he is not the only candidate who surprised many with his KCSE results.
In 2018, five students received special attention from then-education Cs Amina Mohammed for having reversed their academic fortunes.
The most improved candidate that year was Josphat Mwangi, who scored an A- in KCSE four years after scoring 278 marks in KCPE.
He was closely followed by one Maingi George Mburu, who managed an impressive B+ after scoring 279 marks in KCPE.
“This is clear evidence that candidates who may perform poorly in KCPE can perform excellently in KCSE despite low marks they achieved 4 years previously,” said CS Amina.
