Ng'iya Girls offers to admit girl placed at Lenana Boys School

There is hope for the Siaya girl who had been placed to join Form One at Lenana Boys School after Ng'iya Girls School committed to secure her a slot.

The Siaya Sub-county Director of Education Maurice Saka together with Siaya Subcounty Deputy County Commissioner Robert Ng'etich approached Ng'iya Girls School to consider admitting her to the institution.

Gloria Adhiambo Owino, 14, scored 389 marks in the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exams from Nyalgunga Primary School in Alego Usonga Constituency.

Ng'etich said that he got worried after he learnt from the press Thursday morning that a girl who had performed impressively was now stranded at home.

"Immediately, we sent for the parent and the girl, they came to Ng'iya and placed a request, which is also a national school, and we hope that the government will ensure that he gets to be placed here," said Ng'etich.

Ng'iya Girls Principal Hellen Juma confirmed that the school had immediately requested the ministry to have Gloria admitted to her institution.

"What we have done is that I have placed a request to the ministry which I know will be approved so that this girl can be absorbed her in Ng'iya Girls. I want to believe that with everything put in place, Ng'iya will absorb her to continue her education up to Form Four," Juma said.

What this means though, is that Gloria will not obtain an admission letter from Ng'iya until when the Ministry of Education shall have approved the transfer from Lenana to Ng'iya.

Speaking at the school Thursday, Gloria was upbeat about the swift action of the officials, stating that Ng'iya Girls National School had been one of her choices during the school's selection process.

"I love Ng'iya and it is one of the schools that I had chosen. I would want to be admitted here," she said.

The education director noted that Gloria's tribulation arose from a simple error where she had been enrolled as a male instead of a female.

" We have learnt from this case and we are now correcting it. The girl was captured as a male because necessary corrections had not been done early during registration," Saka said.

Consultations are ongoing between the ministry, the regional director of education, and the county director to ensure that the mistake is amicably solved, Saka noted.

Ng'etich thanked members of the Fourth Estate for having highlighted Gloria's predicament, further calling on any other student or parent who may be having an issue to report to the nearest education office.

Her father Friedrich Owino thanked Saka, Ng'etich and Juma for strongly committing to secure his daughter a Form One slot in Ng'iya.

Even though the gender mix-up issue is almost solved, Gloria and her parents still have to worry about where they will generate school fees.

Her parents work as farmhands for meagre wages in the village and cannot finance her schooling.

Once again, her mother Margret Awuor called on well-wishers to come through and sponsor her daughter's education.

Awuor indicated that no financial help had come forth so far.

"As her parents, we will appreciate whatever little someone can donate. Alone we cannot support her education," she said.

To reach out to Gloria's mother, one can call +2547 6909 7242 or reach out to this writer on +2547 1431 1494.