Meet grandpa who joined Class Three at 72 and sat KCSE at 82
In 2003, 72-year-old Rufinus Taa marched to Korabariet Primary School and enrolled as a Class Two student.
Mr Taa, known as Arap Taa by the residents of Kuresoi North, said he wanted to be able to read the letters his children sent him and be able to write back.
“When I got letters from my children I would go around the village looking for someone to read them for me. Then I would tell them what to write back, but some people relayed the wrong message,” he said.
Now aged 86, Mr Taa is happy he made the decision to go back to school despite his advancing age.
“I have learnt to read, write and I can communicate with people in English and Kiswahili. What else could I ask for?” he says.
SECONDARY SCHOOL
“I enjoyed Kiswahili but Mathematics used to ‘hurt’ my head,” Mr Taa said laughingly.
He said he got an A in Mathematics, Science and Kiswahili and a total of 256 marks in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education in 2009 and joined Korabariet Secondary School where he managed a D-minus in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exams in 2013.
Richard Korir, a teacher at Korabariet Secondary School, said Mr Taa was an active member of the Guidance and Counselling club.
Although he would have loved to study Medicine, Mr Taa is well-versed with herbal treatment, a skill he learned from his mother.
He now works at his former high school as a watchman, a job he says gives him fulfillment.
