Those of you who were born in the ’90s may not understand the pain us oldies went through to get our examination results. First of all, there were no mobile phones. There was one telephone booth in the village and it was mostly out of order, and when it was in order it was in use by almost all the villagers. Relatives would call and ask whoever picked the telephone to rush to a certain homestead to call the person they were supposed to talk to. Of course, unless the caller was extremely lucky to find a relative hanging around, the fellow who picked the phone would inform the caller that he did not know the person who was supposed to receive the call. So there was no way of calling the school to ask about the results. Most primary schools had no telephone or it was there but out of order.
When the only radio station( Kenya Broadcasting Corporation ) announced the results, anxious parents and pupils would flock the school the following day hoping to get their results. The headmaster would be away and the day being Thursday, the secretary would advise you to come for the results on Monday the following week. The crowd would again gather on Monday and wait until late
evening but the Head Master would be no show. No explanation would be given and parents and pupils would leave one after the other. On Tuesday the same crowd would gather with renewed hope and wait for the Headmaster who would fail to show up. No explanation would be given. On Wednesday the Head Master would show up very early and “show” examination to the early risers. But being a school holiday he would be in a bit of a hurry and leave to attend personal business. No one else was trusted enough to show the results, not even the Deputy Headmaster. So those who missed him during his present window would keep coming back until they were lucky. Believe it or not, some times it took two long weeks to know one’s examination result. And the pupil or parent had to come in person to receive the results.
Those were anxious days.
Today though the examination results are announced on live T.V and radio after which anyone with a mobile phone can send a message bearing the index number of the candidate and instantly get results. Where you have passed with flying colours the news broadcasters will be there to interview you even before you realize the results are out. Relatives will also come in handy to hoist you on the shoulders and dance in the streets. If you have passed no distance is too great, Someone will definitely interview you. This is the modern way of receiving examination result instantly. Mine was the hard way. I had to wait for a week but I still love my time. Somehow I still think it was more fun.