National Assembly Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss Shollei has shared little-known details about her struggles in the early days of her lower primary education.
Despite being a holder of a Bachelor in Laws degree and an MBA – all was not rosy at the beginning for the Uasin Gishu County Woman Member of Parliament.
Speaking during the release of the 2023 KCSE results at Moi Girls High School, Eldoret, on January 8, 2024, Shollei said she was last in class during the year she did the Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) examination at Hill School.
“When I did my CPE, I had the lowest mark. I was at the bottom and could not get a place in a secondary school,” the Woman MP said.
It took the intervention of nuns at Loreto Matunda to get a place in secondary school. It was this opportunity that proved a turning point in her education life as she would transform into an A-student.
Shollei’s inspiration for non-performing students
After posting good results at Loreto Matunda, she secured admission to Moi Girls, Eldoret, where she was among the top students in final examinations.
“Nuns allowed me to go to Loreto Matunda and by the time I finished, I was at the top. By the time I was at Moi Girls, I was also the top student,” the legislator who is a lawyer by profession said.
She shared her story as an inspiration to candidates who might not have performed well in the national examination.
Despite the bumpy start to her education, the Deputy Speaker went on to obtain a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Nairobi, a Diploma in Law from Kenya School of Law, a master’s degree from the University of Cape Town and an MBA from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.
She worked as a lecturer at the University of Nairobi and as Kenya’s Deputy Chief Election Officer before becoming Chief Registrar of the Judiciary of Kenya.
Shollei argues that one result can never define an individual.
“I was a C student but I completed school as an A-student,” she said while calling for an education system where an examination is not used to eliminate students.
“Even for those students who will receive their results and may not be at the top, you will have an opportunity to go to technical institutions and colleges. The future success is not defined by today’s grade, but by discipline, focus, and determination,” she said.
2023 KCSE results
In the 2023 KCSE results, of the 899,453 candidates, only 201,133 attained the minimum university entry qualification of Grade C+ and above with 1,216 of them scoring Grade A.
526,222 candidates which represent 58.27 per cent scored a grade (grade D+ and above) while 48,174 candidates had a Grade E.
