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In a show of sheer determination and passion for education, Maina Muchoki has sat Kenya Certificate for Secondary Education (KCSE) examination four times with an aim of joining the university.

In the KCSE exams results released on Monday, Maina aged 41 years scored a C + (plus) grade for the exam he did under the adult education class.

Maina did the Kenya Certificate for Primary Education (KCPE) examination in 2000 where he scored 350 marks but he could not join Form One due to financial constraints.

For seven years, he did casual jobs but his quest for education never died. Well-wishers came through for him and sponsored him to join Rungiri High School in 2007.

He however had to drop out in form three after he developed eyesight problems and could no longer stay in class.

After six years, he decided to give education another try and registered to re-sit the KCPE exams as a private candidate in 2015 where he scored 303 marks.

“I was working as a casual in Nairobi University and I used to admire the students in the institution and this motivated me to want to go back to class,” he said.

Through the help of a sponsor, he was admitted to Kikuyu Boys High School in 2016 and for the second time he was forced to drop out in form two after developing health complications.

“I was scoring A grade in all the exams and this motivated me to work harder to pursue my dreams but they were shattered due to ill heath,” he said.

Maina moved to another school in Kiambu still struggling with poor health where he attained a C plain grade in his first KCSE exam in 2019.

He was however not satisfied with the grade and he opted to repeat the examination and registered at Ititu secondary school in Kiharu. For the second time he attained the same grade but with improved points.

Maina felt he had the potential to do better and he joined the adult education class in 2022 hoping to attain a better grade. This time he scored C plus grade for the third trial.

“I felt that I had the potential for a better grade,” he said.

For the fourth trial in the 2023 KCSE he got the same grade and he now says this was his final push.
Speaking to People Daily, Maina said he initially wanted to pursue bachelors in economics but he will have to get an alternative course.

“Chasing a dream for more than 20 years is no mean feat and I feel I have done the best I could,” he remarked.

He however says the government needs to focus on adult education pointing out that for the two years he was under the program, there was no single day the teacher was available and he had to do all the learning by himself.

“I believe I would have performed better if I got the assistance from the teacher to guide me on areas which I could not understand” he said.