Waitaluk MCA Furaha Lusweti and Minister of Education in Trans Nzoia County Janerose Mutama. Photo: Jacinta Wataka.
The Ministry of Education has initiated a process to identify students who wish to benefit from the Ukombozi Education Bursary Scholarship Funding Scheme.
Speaking while overseeing the exercise to identify needy students in Kiminini, Waitaluk and Sirende wards, Trans Nzoia County Education Minister Janerose Nasimiyu Mutama said the move will help ensure that every student in need benefits from the scholarship assistance.
Mutama said that the exercise is too ensure that the needy students get first priority, after missing in the last allocation done by the county.
“We realized that a lot of deserving students missed out on the last disbursement and new were onboarded. But as a Department we want to ensure that there is transparency and accountability in the disbursement, that is why we have undertaken serious identification of the students,” she explained.
Mutama was in company of Waitaluk Ward Member of County Assembly (MCA) Furaha Lusweti, who helped in the cleaning of the data along with ward vetting committee to ensure that deserving students receive the scholarship, when the county embarks on writing of cheques next week.
The exercise embarks after a stalemate between Controller of Budget and Council of Governors on governors bursaries, which halted the program over overlapping of functions seen in the national government as well, but has since been resolved.
Lusweti, said they completed the exercise in 13 schools in his ward, and further called on the Central Government through the Ministry of Education to release capitation funds to finance education because many school principals across the country are having a difficult time running schools due to lack of funds.
“We have gone round all 13 Day Secondary Schools in Waitaluk Ward to confirm that the beneficiaries are listed and vetted to receive the cheques. We understand that the government is tasked with disbursement of capitation to schools which has delayed. We call on government to release the funds so that learning is not interrupted in our schools,” Lusweti added.
His pleas coming after school heads decried shortage of funds to run learning activities in schools across the country, which has since been made hard after the court ruling on school levies to teachers, that was widely criticised to paralysis activitues in schools, as capitation is usually disbursed late.
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