Matthew Nyamlori Aol’s education story is a long winding journey. He has, however, been unbowed and unbent for the nine times he did the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) national exam, which is administered once a year.
Mathew Nyamlori Aol spent 22 years in primary, finally got a degree but has no job
Meet 39-year-old man who spent 22 years in primary school, finally graduated university but has no job
Mathew Nyamlori Aol, 39, spent 22 years in primary, graduated with a degree in 2021
His determination and efforts paid off in July 2021, when he graduated from Kenyatta University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Policy and Administration.
Nyamlori spent a record 22 years in primary school.
He first sat for the KCPE exam in 1998, scored 478 marks out of a possible 700, and got an admission letter to Kabianga High School.
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Aol was unable to proceed due to a lack of tuition fees. His parents were not able to educate him past the primary level. He thus pursued excellence in academic performance so that he would get a scholarship or a well-wisher to fund him through high school.
Mathew Nyamlori Aol, 39, spent 22 years in primary, graduated with a degree in 2021
Pulse Live Kenya
In his third attempt, he did the KCPE exams in 2004 and excelled scoring 434 marks. He got admission to Maseno School but could not join for lack of school fees yet again.
The then Maseno School Principal empathized almost four months later and allowed him to join other Form One students. He would drop out in Form Two in 2006 because he had not made any fee payments since admission the previous year.
The never-ending cycle nearly came to an end in 2007 when he opted to go to Nairobi and try his hand at menial jobs.
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The urge to excel in academia didn’t see that happening since he went back to different primary schools and sat for successive KCPE exams from the year 2008 to 2010. In all the attempts Nyamlori gained national school admissions on merit.
Nyamlori stars would align to his favor in 2011 when Equity Bank’s Wings To Fly program awarded him a scholarship. This good luck came after he sat for the KCPE exam a ninth time.
Mathew Nyamlori Aol, 39, spent 22 years in primary, graduated with a degree in 2021
Pulse Live Kenya
He proceeded to gain admission into Nairobi School where he sat for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCPE) exam and scored an impressive B+. He was then offered admission into Kenyatta University where he earned his degree.
Eight months after his graduation and having staged a spirited fight to conquer academia Nyamlori is among unemployed graduates in Kenya.
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After coming into the public eye, some time back, he confirmed having been promised jobs but upon completion of studying, the people who pledged to offer jobs disappeared.
He makes a living by conducting research and writing academic proposals in addition to gigs as a motivational speaker.
The ever-resilient Matthew is still hopeful that things will brighten up.
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