A Mother's Desperate Appeal for Help to Secure Her Daughter’s Future
A 42-year-old widow from Homa Bay County is urgently seeking assistance to clear outstanding school fees that are threatening to derail her daughter’s university education. The mother, Olga Awuor, has been struggling to raise KSh 65,000 to settle the arrears at the secondary school where her daughter sat for her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination. Without this payment, she cannot obtain the result slip necessary for university admission.
Olga’s daughter, Cynthia Oliveria, scored a mean grade of B (plain) in her KCSE and is set to begin her studies at Kenyatta University on August 27, 2025. However, the family is now facing a critical deadline, as the school requires at least KSh 50,000 to release the result slip. This financial burden has placed the daughter’s future in jeopardy, as the mother has no stable income to meet the demand.
Financial Struggles and the Impact on Family Life
Olga, who lost her husband, has been relying on casual jobs in her neighborhood to support her two children. These jobs, however, are not consistent, and she has only managed to afford basic necessities like food. Her firstborn daughter had to drop out of college due to the inability to pay tuition fees, and now the second daughter faces a similar fate.
Cynthia, who has been working at Lake Victoria beaches to support her education, recounted how she would go to the beach to load and offload omena (a type of fish) to earn money for school fees. “Carrying a basin of fresh omena would cost KSh 200,” she said, highlighting the challenges she has faced throughout her academic journey.
Despite these hardships, Cynthia remains determined to pursue her dream of studying Health Records and Information Technology (IT) at university. She has made an emotional appeal to anyone who can help her mother cover the remaining fees.
School Policy and Government Directive
St. Mary’s Winjo Mixed Secondary School, where Cynthia took her KCSE, has maintained that the result slip will not be released unless the outstanding fees are paid. The Deputy Principal, Joseph Owino, explained that the school must also cover its own expenses, including payments to suppliers and non-teaching staff.
“We have suppliers and other non-teaching staff who also depend on the same money to educate their children. It would be courteous to clear the balance before picking the result slip,” Owino stated.
However, this policy conflicts with a recent government directive that instructed schools to release all certificates they were withholding over fee arrears. Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba emphasized that school heads must ensure that learners have access to their certificates, regardless of any unpaid fees.
This directive applies to both the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and the Kenya Secondary Certificate Education (KCSE), aiming to prevent students from being denied their educational opportunities due to financial constraints.
A Call for Support
With just days left until the university registration date, Olga and Cynthia are appealing for urgent assistance. They hope that well-wishers or organizations will come forward to help them meet the required fees. Their story highlights the broader issue of financial barriers in education and the need for more flexible policies that allow students to access their results without undue hardship.
The family’s situation underscores the importance of community support and the role that individuals and institutions can play in ensuring that no student is left behind due to economic challenges. As the clock ticks down to August 27, the hope is that their plea will not go unheard.