On 20 November 2018, Solai Nyakinyua Primary School in Nakuru reported a notable KCPE rebound after the Solai Dam tragedy, which left the school community deeply shaken and claimed 48 lives in the wider area.
The school, which lost 14 pupils in the disaster, produced seven candidates who scored above 300 marks. That was a clear improvement from the previous three years, when fewer than five pupils had crossed that mark.
Chris Nganga led the school with 339 marks. Martha Njeri followed with 327, while Jane Wanjiru scored 322. Teachers and parents said the results were unexpected given the trauma many of the children had endured.
Head teacher Stanley Njoroge said the aftermath of the tragedy made the recovery process difficult for pupils and staff alike. He said some children had lost parents, others had lost friends and property, but they still managed to perform strongly.
The school’s mean score rose to 234, up from 201 in the 2017 KCPE results. Njoroge said the school had previously produced fewer than five pupils above 300 marks over the past three years, and some candidates had scored below 100. This time, he said, every pupil scored above 100.
He also said one mentally challenged pupil managed to score above 100 marks, describing it as a rare achievement for the school.
According to Njoroge, five candidates were badly affected by the tragedy and often fainted at school. He said they later stabilised after counselling.
Teachers and parents credited the turnaround to counselling, motivational talks and hard work. Njoroge said sponsors and well-wishers joined the school in counselling sessions, and although the school lost about three weeks as pupils tried to come to terms with what had happened, most of them had stabilised by September.
Chris Waweru, the top performer, had lost his best friend in the tragedy. His father, John Kagai, said the boy took a long time to recover emotionally, but counselling helped him cope. Kagai added that Waweru was undergoing initiation and hoped to become an engineer.
Hadija Njema, one of the parents, said the results offered hope after the trauma and urged the government to support counselling for pupils affected by similar disasters in future.
