Priscilla Sitienei, the world’s oldest elementary school student, died at 99.
The BBC claimed that Priscilla’s health troubles flared up Wednesday. Priscilla had finals a week later.
She was called a “Gogo,” meaning grandma in Kalenjin. In a report in 2015, Sitienei said she wished to learn to read and write.
“Without education, there’s no difference between you and a chicken,” she told the BBC.
Sitienei, who grew up in Kenya and watched its independence from the British Empire, worked as a midwife in Ndalat village for 60 years before returning to school. In 2010, she joined Leaders Vision Preparatory School, where she encountered youngsters whose deliveries she’d helped.
Kenyan lawyer and politician Stephen Sang, the second Governor of Nandi County, declared late Gogo was the world’s oldest student.
The source said Gogo would investigate youngsters and parents who missed school or weren’t admitted.
UNESCO applauded her educational work. She told the agency she wanted to encourage young moms to return to school.
Patrick Pessis co-wrote a French film, “Gogo,” inspired by her life.
