Young girls here are inspired to work hard in their studies and pass exams after some of their peers emerged as top scorers in Kenya’s national exams this year.KAKUMA REFUGEE CAMP, Kenya – Refugee students here and in the neighboring Dadaab refugee camp defied the odds to score high grades in the 2017 Kenya’s national examination for primary and secondary school students.

Their achievements are inspiring others to study with the hope one day attending university.

“I worked hard in class despite insufficient teachers and learning equipment at the school,” he said Somali native Abdiweli Hussein, 20, a refugee in Kenya since 2008 who scored 67 points out of possible 84 in Kenya’s secondary school exams. “Life as a refugee is hard but one needs to focus in studies to achieve their dreams.”

Hussein, who now wants to pursue petroleum engineering at the university, said his success was not easy.

“I don’t know where my parents are,” said Hussein. “I was brought here by my aunt.”

But hard work, drive and passion helped him to achieve his dream.

“I’m very grateful for scoring such high marks despite all the difficulties and challenges that come with being in a refugee camp,” he said. “I want to encourage other refugees to work hard in class because it’s the only way they can change their lives.”

His classmate and fellow Somali, Abdirahman Abdi, 19, scored 73 points out of 84.

Both attend Waberi High School in the Dadaab camp, where more than 235,000 refugees and asylum seekers live. Dadaab is part of a cluster of camps that comprise the largest refugee facility in the world.

In nearby Kakuma refugee camp, 14-year-old Magot Thuch Ayii, a South Sudanese, scored 413 out of 500 in Kenya’s primary school exam, becoming one of the top students in the country. Magot was a student at the Cush Primary School.

Over a million candidates registered for the Kenya’s primary school exams while more than 615,000 took the secondary school tests. The Ministry of Education oversees the exams. Kenya adopted the exams in 1985 after education reforms that established students tracks that include eight years of primary education, four of secondary education and then university study for the best students.

Refugees here and elsewhere in Kenya’s camps have been performing well in both examinations despite the trauma they go through as refugees, said UNHCR officials who run schools in the camps.

“They perform very well despite numerous gaps such as insufficient teaching and learning materials, untrained teachers and overcrowded classrooms,” said Hure Mohammed, the UNHCR’s education officer at Kakuma. “Refugees can perform very well if they are provided with the right school environment and adequate resources.”

Last year’s performance by refugee students has especially inspired other candidates in the camps to study this year’s national examinations.

“I’m prepared and I will pass this year’s exams with high marks,” said Edwin Thon, a primary school student in Kakuma. “Refugees can also become top performers.”

But Samuel Zeleke, 44, a parent in Kakuma Camp, lamented that opportunities, even for the best students, are limited. He appealed to donors and other development groups to sponsor higher education for refugees.

“We’re happy because our children are performing very well,” said the father of seven. “But our children lack scholarship to continue with their education and they end up teaching primary and secondary schools as untrained teachers.

Hure agreed. Limited access to Kenyan secondary schools and few scholarship opportunities continue to pose a challenge to young refugees, he said.

But Thon is determined to work hard and excel in the exams despite all the challenges within the camp.

“I know that I’m going to excel,” he said. “I want to be at the top so that I can get a scholarship.”

An alternative version of this story can be found in Al-Fanar.
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