Simiyu Robinson Wanjala, the 2020 KCSE top candidate has acknowledged Embakasi MP Babu Owino for his online classes that he says played a big part in helping him prepare for the final exam.
He categorically points out Chemistry and Mathematics classes as which he benefited a lot.
“I would love to appreciate Babu [Owino] for his classes. I remember his Chemistry and Mathematics lessons…they really helped me a lot,” he said.
Although Murang’a High School had already rolled out online classes for their students, Simiyu stated that Babu Owino’s classes came in handy, especially at a time when COVID-19 had hit.
“Our school had online lessons but there are students out there who did not have that privilege. I benefitted from the lessons and I believe many others did,” said Robinson.
In 2020, when COVID-19 struck Kenya, schools were closed and the education calendar was disrupted. KCPE and KCSE hope to sit for their final exams were shuttered and some schools rolled out online classes to ensure they completed the syllabus in good time.
Professor Babu Owino
Embakasi East MP, Babu Owino took it upon himself to assist students through online teaching. He offered mainly Mathematics and Chemistry among other classes for free on his social media platforms.
The move attracted mixed reactions from Kenyans. Some supported it and urged him to continue. On the other hand, it also attracted a lot of criticism, some accusing him of trying to ‘sanitize’ his name. However, this did not deter him.
The classes, which were often conducted on Friday afternoons, soon attracted more people and Babu took students through the classes so well that it earned him the name professor.
A few weeks ago, the youthful MP took to social media to flaunt his phenomenal degree certificates in an attempt to explain why he spent so many years in school.
The certificates showed he scored first-class honors in a Bachelor of Science degree in Actuarial Science at the University of Nairobi back in 2012.
He later enrolled in the same university for a Law degree and graduated with second-class honors, upper-division in 2020.