Moi Girls High School rises above fire tragedy to post good KCSE results

Moi Girls High School, Nairobi, a school that has been mired in controversies in the past one year, is banking on the achievement of its top candidates in this year’s KCSE examination to turn a new leaf.

After a fire tragedy in September 2017 that killed 10 girls, and allegations of rape in June, after which school principal Jael Mureithi went on early retirement, the school has been experiencing testing times.

So bad was the situation, the Nation learnt, that some girls did not return to school after the rape claims. Some were studying from home though they were registered to sit their examinations at the school.

NINTH BEST STUDENT

When Shalyn Moraa Nyakea was on Friday announced as the ninth best student in this year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination, there was a wave of optimism among heads of the institution.

“Two Muslim girls did not come back after the sexual abuse allegations,” said deputy principal Peninah Omondi. “But Shalyn was so faithful. She’s wiped away our tears.”

School principal Florence Omusula said the class of 2018 promised to put the school back on the national map. “It hasn’t been easy for us, given what we’ve gone through. But the students promised they would put the school in the limelight for all the good reasons. They’ve fulfilled their promise,” said Ms Omusula.

On Shalyn, Ms Omusula said she was a good student “but not the best” because she was index number seven.

“It's most definitely a pleasant surprise,” she said.

ACADEMIC GIANTS

Index number one at the school, Wairimu Miano, also scored a straight A of 82 points. The school had 285 candidates.

Ms Omondi, the deputy principal, recalled the days when the school competed with academic giants like Kenya High and Alliance Girls.

The principal said the teachers gave their all because they wanted to prove that something good could come out of the school.

When the Nation visited the institution on Friday, some classrooms were still being used as dormitories.

“This means that we’ve had to bear with a shortage of labs because some of them were turned into classrooms … and we gave priority to examination candidates in use of the three remaining science labs,” said the deputy.