High School Principals Whose Success Gave Them Fame
Principals of high schools will always be remembered for their crucial contributions to our lives. While some people remember their principals with affection, for others, they serve as a sharp reminder of a time they’d like to leave in the past.
Most of the time, a principal’s leadership would determine the school’s success or failure. Several past principals have benefited from this by successfully leading their schools, which has advanced their careers.
The Mount Rushmore of academic achievement is examined by Kenyans.co.ke in regard to six former high school principals.
Charles Khaemba
The former Kenya Air Force pilot is well-known for his ten years as head of Alliance High School, where he oversaw the academic powerhouse. He started out as a math and physics instructor before progressing through the ranks to become housemaster, careers master, senior master, deputy principal, and finally principal. The school’s history claims that Khaemba was given the nickname “Sodium” by the students due to his direct attitude to academic tasks.
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He is known for elevating the Alliance to a top-tier position and frequently placing the school in the top 10 of the KCSE performance rankings.
Khaemba then went on to hold the position of African Leadership Academy’s first dean in South Africa. From 2012 to 2013, he further worked as a consultant on education in the Prime Minister’s office.
Before being nominated to the Urban Planning and Lands docket in 2016, Khaemba was the County Executive in charge of Education, Youth Affairs, Social Services, Culture, and Children at Nairobi City County between 2013 and 2015.
Along with a group of academics, he founded Nova Pioneer in 2015.
Simon Nabukwesi
From 1989 through 2000, Nabukwesi had a distinguished career as a teacher. At the Friends School Kamusinga in Bungoma County, he served as the previous principal.
Later, he took on diplomatic responsibilities, acting as Kenya’s High Commissioner to Canada and its representative to Cuba.
Nabukwesi was a diplomat for eleven years before being appointed to the position of Commonwealth Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He was given the position of PS in the Ministry of Education by President Uhuru Kenyatta in February 2020.
Cleophas Tirop
Kapsabet Boys’ transformation into a top-tier academic institution is credited to Cleophas Tirop. Before being chosen as the Nairobi school’s principal in 2010, he first held the position of Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association’s boss.
Tirop was appointed to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) as a commissioner as a result of his academic success. He worked for the Commission for two years before retiring.
Prof Laban Ayiro
The lecturer, who was raised in the Kibera slums yet went on to become a respected academic, is now Daystar University’s vice chancellor. Prof. Ayiro served as the interim vice chancellor of Moi University before joining Daystar.
Former principal of various high schools, including Mumias East’s Lubinu Boys High School and Nairobi’s Sunshine Secondary School. At Lubinu, a dorm bears the name of the former headmaster.
Later on, he was transferred to the Ministry of Education’s headquarters in Nairobi, where he worked in a variety of positions, including those of Provincial Director of Education, Deputy Director of Staff Training, and Senior Deputy Director for Policy and Planning.
The good professor is currently a recipient of five degrees from prestigious institutions.
Gregory Gryphon
Gryphon, who passed away in 2013, is remembered for being the institution’s first director. He made sure the school was always among the top five in the nation while he was in charge.
In barazas, where prefects and students had more influence than teachers, he managed the school. Numerous notable people who hold different positions in society have come out of the school.
They include people like Paul Ereng, an Olympic gold medalist, who is currently the Jubilee party’s secretary general, Raphael Tuju, a former senior deputy director of medical services named Dr Ambrose Misore, and others.
Gryphon eventually passed away from cancer in June 2005 at the Nairobi Hospital.
Daniel Karaba
After winning the position on the National Alliance party ticket, Karaba represented Kirinyaga County as a senator from 2013 until 2017.
But before that, he held positions as a deputy principal and then as a principal in a number of Kenyan institutions, including Kagumo High School, Highway Secondary School, Kianyaga High School, Kirimara High School, and Njegas Secondary School.
In addition, from 1984 to 1998, he presided over the Secondary Schools Heads Association. The former teacher subsequently entered politics in 2002, when he won his first contest for the Kirinyaga Central parliamentary seat while running on the platform of the NARC party. John Kariuki would win the seat in 2007.
High School Principals Whose Success Gave Them Fame
