It is a cool Monday and everything is relatively calm although one can feel a certain excitement in the air.
It is break time at Motigo Primary School in Bomet District.
The
school is preparing to host the zonal trophy presentation ceremony
after attaining a mean score of 301 marks in the Kenya Certificate of
Primary Education (KCPE) exam.
Although teachers are
also taking a break, once in a while nursery school children are seen
running towards the headmistress, who seems quite happy to play with
them.
CHILDHOOD DREAM
Although
Mrs Cecilia Mutai’s journey to her position as the head of a school was
once a childhood dream, she is happy with her treacherous journey which
has borne her fruits.
“It was always my dream to have so many bright children under my guidance.
And
although girls were rarely educated during our days, I had even a
bigger dream of having many girls whom I could use as weapons of shaping
the society,” she says during the interview.
While her
journey to fulfilling her dream was not easy, the 48 year old school
head attributes her education success to her late uncle who took her in
as a baby sitter when her parents could not raise school fees.
“During
those days very few girls would go to school and at one time my aunt
who was in college came for me so that I could take care of my young
cousin,”
To her, that was the turning point in her life and a step to a thousand miles ahead.
“It
seemed like a cleverly hatched idea of getting me out of the village
where I would eventually have dropped out of school for lack of fees
just like other girls,” she says.
During those days,
the education system, she says, contributed to her success given that
she could baby-sit her cousin in the morning and attend afternoon
classes when her aunt was at home.
AFTERNOON CLASSES
“The education system favoured everyone who wished to study especially in Kajiado where we lived.
“The education system favoured everyone who wished to study especially in Kajiado where we lived.
Afternoon classes had the majority of the pupils since most of us attended to our chores during the morning hours,” She says.
Although
she joined school at the age of 10, she says her desire to learn so
that she could become a teacher greatly motivated her despite being
ridiculed.
Efforts to please her sponsors also pushed her towards achieving higher marks which saw her joining Olkejuado High School.
Her leadership responsibilities while in school helped to shape her to become a future leader, she says.
While in high school, she served as a prefect, deputy head girl and eventually the head girl.
When she finally enrolled in a college where her aunt was, Cecilia says she saw her childhood dreams coming true.
She eventually became a teacher.
Her determination and hard work saw her attain the dream of becoming a head teacher.
Currently, Mrs Mutai is heading a school with over 400 pupils.
She has held this position for the past 15 years.
EDUCATING GIRL CHILD
During
her first four years, she says, she worked with the local community
teaching them on the importance of educating the girl child and
encouraging young girls to take their studies seriously.
One of the main issues that she addresses is early marriages among school girls.
She
says it is a role of both the community and teachers to teach the girl
child on the importance of maintaining their dignity for them to achieve
the best results from education.
“Early pregnancies have significantly dropped and our school has greatly improved coming to in our zone.
It is also among the best performing schools in the county,” she says.
She
says she keeps track of her pupils and prides herself with the fact
that many of them are in higher institutions of learning.
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