MIGORI: Top Student Forced To Repeat Grade 9 Over Lack Of Fees For Senior School
Just days after President William Ruto proclaimed that no learner suitable for Grade 10 should be left at home due to a lack of school fees, a heartbreaking reality has emerged in Rongo, Migori County.
Sebastian Onyango, last year’s top-performing Grade 9 candidate at Nyakwere Primary School, took the agonizing decision to repeat Grade 9 after failing to secure school fees for the transition to senior high school.
On Monday morning, Sebastian entered the school gate like any other student and proceeded directly to his previous Grade 9 classroom.
His peers and professors were unaware of his true goals. Everyone thought he had already reported to a senior secondary school.
Only after teachers inquired did the truth emerge. Sebastian made a stunning case to be readmitted to Grade 9 and allowed to retake the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA).
He aims to raise his score to 70 points, which he feels will help him earn a scholarship and keep his goal of attending Kanga High School in Migori County alive.
Dream deferred: Sebastian Onyango chooses to repeat Grade 9 due to lack of school fees pic.twitter.com/PJPltrEQCI
— Daily Nation (@NationAfrica) January 26, 2026
Despite teachers making tiny contributions to help Sebastian complete the minimal requirements for senior secondary school, he refused to leave the school grounds.
Fighting back tears, he stated that his parents were unable to raise the necessary funds.
“I received an admission letter to Oriwo Boys High School to join Grade 10, but my parents cannot afford the fees,” he told his teachers.
“I am asking to repeat Grade 9 so that I can get better marks that may help a well-wisher sponsor my education.”
Sebastian stated that watching his colleagues attend their dream institutions while he remained behind had taken a significant emotional toll on him.
He described feeling depressed and defeated, his academic future stalled by poverty rather than ability.
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According to him, repeating Grade 9 is not just a second academic chance but also a way to cope with the emotional strain of being left behind.
Inside the classroom, the mood was sombre. Students and teachers alike struggled to come to terms with the fact that their top performer had failed to progress due to financial hardship.
“I felt deeply sad and disappointed seeing one of our best students return to repeat because of school fees,” one of his teachers said.
Sebastian’s story lays bare the gap between policy declarations and the lived experiences of learners whose dreams remain fragile in the face of poverty.
MIGORI: Top Student Forced To Repeat Grade 9 Over Lack Of Fees For Senior School
