Two teenage girls who were neglected by their parents after completing Standard 8 two years ago will be funded by the Nyandarua county government.
The two, aged 17, were enrolled in a secondary school on Tuesday and their Sh26,000 fees catered for by the county. Education executive Faith Mbugua said the girls recently approached one of the ward administrators from Ol Kalou seeking help to go back to school.
“We are happy that we have been able to secure the lives of these girls who, for some reasons, including poverty, did not join secondary school. What really caught me was their urge and desire to be in school," she said.
Governor Francis Kimemia has a policy that all children in Nyandarua must get an education in line with President Uhuru Kenyatta’s 100 per cent transition policy, Mbugua said.
We are happy we can secure the lives of these girls who, for reasons including poverty, did not join secondary school. What really caught me was their urge and desire to be in school
She said the girls, who are first cousins, said they just wanted to be in school.
The girls’ mothers who are single parents, she said, live outside the county. Mbugua said she has tried to engage them on the phone and the reasons they give regarding why they neglected their daughters "are not convincing".
More worrying, she said, is that the mothers said their daughters are no longer children since they have completed primary education, hence, they have no reason to bother about them.
The girls live in a rented house in an Ol Kalou estates which is, ironically, paid for by their mothers. The girls’ elderly and blind grandmother lives in the neighbourhood and they take care of her, the CEC said.
Mbugua said her department has taken them through counselling sessions, which she said will continue.
The principal of the school where they were admitted said, “They are willing to study and achieve their dreams.”
He said one of the girls scored 226 marks in the KCPE exam while the other scored 198 marks. The principal praised Kimemia’s initiative as wise and prudent.
“The county government has offered to educate them to the highest level they desire and we shall give them all the necessary assistance to enable them to settle in school and catch up with others," he said.
He said in case they are not able to catch up given that they have enrolled towards the end of the second term, they will be given a chance to repeat Form 1.
Education officer Daniel Cheruiyot said they have asked the principal to ensure they are given a supportive environment to achieve their potential.
“We have also talked to the girls and they assured us they will take advantage of this chance to realise their potential. They are still young and academically promising."
Edited by R.Wamochie