53-year-old excited to register for KCPE after 14 years in class

As students across the country troop to school for their forst term, a 53-year-old student from Kamwosor in Metkei Ward, Elgeyo Marakwet County is upbeat about registering for this year’s Kenya Certificate of Primary School Education (KCPE) exams after spending over 14 years in adult education class.

Speaking to Citizen Digital at Kamwosor, Joseph Ekaran said that having educated his children, he desired to quench his thirst for education as well.

Ekaran , who boasts that some of his children have gone all the way up to university, says that he’s getting an education so that he can be able to handle his business better.

The upbeat 53-year-old says that he looks forward to attaining his KCPE, and he hopes to move on to secondary school after that.

“I am very happy that we are going to register for standard eight examinations, it has been a long time studying and I hope to do well” he said.

Ekaran, who was declared the best adult education student last year in the entire county, says his desire is to be a role model to other adult education students.

He urged other adult students to follow suit as education would help them to handle their lives better.

Maruge the Guinness World Record Student

Another elderly student, Kimani Ng’ang’a Maruge, made local and global headlines when he joined Class One at the ripe age of 84.

Maruge enrolled at Kapkenduiywo Primary School in Eldoret in 2004, and took his seat alongside 5-year-old children in pursuit of an education.

When asked what propelled him to join primary school in his golden years, Maruge said the government’s introduction of free primary school education was his main motivation.

The octogenarian was a model student, and in 2005 he was appointed Head Boy of his primary school.

His inspirational story made it into numerous media reports, and a feature film, The First Grader, was created from his story.

Maruge, who succumbed to stomach cancer in 2009, currently holds the world Guinness World Record for being the oldest person to start school.