She grew up in Kenya under colonial rule, when women didn’t get an education. In her 90s, CNN reports that Priscilla Sitienei is changing that by attending elementary school and inspiring a generation.
She started kindergarten at a boarding school near Eldoret five years ago and is currently in fourth grade.
“I had grandchildren and great-grandchildren who shunned school,” she says by phone from Ndalat.
“That made me mad. I decided I had to show them that education is important.”
Oldest student?
Some Kenyan hospitals did not keep birth records during colonial times. Sitienei’s exact age is unclear, but she says she was born around 1923 when a famine plagued her hometown. Growing up, relatives told her she barely survived that famine as a toddler, which gave her a rough estimate of her birth year.
If confirmed by the Guinness World Records, she would be the oldest pupil in elementary school.
The last such honour by the Guinness World Records went to another Kenyan, Kimani Maruge, who in 2004 was named the oldest person to begin primary school. Five years later, he died at the age of 90.
Making up for lost time
Though Sitienei has worked as a traditional midwife for decades, she says there’s still much to learn.
“My favourite subject is math,” the nonagenarian says. “Now that I’m in school, I know the right dosage to give the women who I help deliver their babies.”
Sitienei married at a young age and focused on raising her 10 children.
“I could not go to school even if I wanted,” she says. “In my time, educating a woman was considered a waste of time and money.”
‘Education has no age limit’
She enthusiastically describes her love for school and fellow students, some of whom she helped bring into this world.
“They call me ‘Gogo,’ ” she says, using the word for grandmother in her local Kalenjin tribe. “We play in swings during recess; we talk. I like school.”
Sitienei has a special dorm room in a corner, where she imparts wisdom to her proteges. Outside her door, a sign says, “Education has no age limit.”
Friendly competition
David Kinyanjui, the Leaders Vision Preparatory School principal, describes her as a model pupil.
“She advises our girls and our boys,” Kinyanjui says. “She participates in everything, including PE (physical education). She’s also good at math and science, and she’s such a good storyteller.”
Sitienei’s enthusiasm is already paying off.
Her three great-grandchildren are her classmates. They have a friendly competition to see who’ll get the best grades.
Last year, Sitienei was the leading student in third grade.
“Her great-grandchildren could not believe she did better than them. That motivated them; one even cried,” the principal says.
Now, they work even harder to beat her.
