Best student made to repeat his grade after failing to pay his grade 10 fees

With only a few days elapsed since President William Ruto took the stage publicly to assure the Kenyans that no learner who is fit to join Grade 10 would be sent home because of the non-payment of school fees, an eye-opening situation in Congo, Midori County has brought into the picture the reality of a lot of families in the country.

In 2024, Sebastian Onyango, the highest-achieving Grade 9 student in the Nyakwere Primary School, has been made to repeat Grade 9 after failing to pay the required fees to join senior secondary school. Against all his achievements in learning, poverty has halted his studies development, leaving the teachers and other learners in a very shocked state after he made a choice.

On Monday morning, Sebastian was in his usual appearance at Myanmar Primary School dressed up and with his school bag. Rather than going to a senior secondary school as everyone had anticipated, he just walked into his former Grade 9 classroom and sat down.

His peers and instructors thought that he had arrived to receive papers or meet them at the airport, and then got on his way.

Teachers only questioned him later in the day after they realized that he had not left the compound.

It was also at this time that Sebastian made his emotional appeal that shocked the staff: he requested to be re-admitted to Grade 9 and be given a second chance to take the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJ SEA). Sebastian also indicated that despite being offered admission to Oriwo Boys High School to study Grade 10, his parents could not afford the school fees. According to him, there was no other choice but to repeat Grade 9.

He informed his parents that he had been offered admission into Ohio Boys High School, but he could not afford the fees. I am requesting to be allowed to repeat Grade 9 because I need to get more marks and possibly secure myself a scholarship given by a well-wisher.

Sebastian has hopes of getting a score of over 70 points in the KJSEA, which he thinks would lead to him getting sponsorship and, hopefully, give him an opportunity to enroll in Kana High School in Midori County, which is one of his dream schools. At Nyakwere Primary School, the teachers tried to come in.

Out of his desire, they contributed little by little to support him to the minimum level of requirements of senior secondary school.

Sebastian, however, refused the offer by saying that without the promise of long-term support, rejoicing in Grade 10 would only result in future humiliation had he been sent home due to non-payment of fees.

In addition to the financial issue, Sebastian disclosed that the emotional burden of being left behind had been too much. Seeing his classmates enjoying themselves after they were accepted into the elite schools at home subjected him to intense unhappiness.

I am depressed and defeated, he said. Repeating Grade 9 is not only about how to improve my marks. It will kind of help me get through the agony of being abandoned. The mood in the classroom was gloomy. Students did not comprehend how their high achiever, whom many of the students looked up to, could be compelled to retake a class not due to failure but due to poverty.

According to one of the teachers, the situation was devastating. The teacher said that it is very sad and disappointing to watch one of the brightest students repeating a course just because his family is not able to pay the school fees. The case of Sebastian shows the increasing pressure between the government policy pronouncements and the experiences of learners with poor backgrounds.

Though the promise of free transition and equal opportunity is being made officially, families still find themselves having to bear expenses that they are unable to meet, forcing bright students to either drop out or stagnate.

With education reforms still being implemented, the case of Sebastian can be taken as a shocking reminder that talent is not the solution. Without support systems that are practical, the aspirations of many talented learners will always be weak as they linger between poverty and promise.