Over 1,000 students handed Sh51m bursary in Kisumu

The Kisumu county government has disbursed Sh51 million bursary and scholarships to 1,050 students.

Beneficiaries were drawn from Nyakach, Kisumu East, Nyando, Seme, Muhoroni, Kisumu Central and Kisumu West subcounties.

Kisumu Deputy Governor Mathews Owili who presided over the disbursement on Monday said the bursary was part of payment for the Financial Year 2023/2024.

In his speech read on his behalf by the deputy governor, Governor Anyang Nyong’o said 350 pending scholarship applicantions are being processed and will be issued soon.

"My government has been giving bursaries and scholarships every financial year, ever since we came into office in 2017. We only skipped the 2019/2020 financial year due to the Covid-19 crisis,” Nyong’o said.

Last year, the county disbursed Sh102 million to 3,0526 beneficiaries out of the 52,984 applicants.

“The money saved the beneficiaries from dropping out of school and gave them hope of realising their cherished dreams,” Nyong’o said.

Since 2017, he said they have issued Sh308,245,862 in scholarships to 2,310 students and Sh723.8 million in bursaries to more than 78,572 successful applicants.

This translates to Sh1 billion total monies the county government of Kisumu has disbursed in scholarships and bursaries, the governor said.

“We have helped thousands of students and we are going for needier but bright children as a strategy to ensure smooth transition from Std 8 to secondary and into universities,” Nyong’o said.

He noted that the allocation of bursary and scholarships has been on an upward trajectory since 2017 compared to the preceding years.

In 2019, Nyong’o doubled the bursary allocations per ward from Sh2 million to Sh4.1 million.

The county, he said, has also been supporting students pursuing various marine courses at the Kisumu Marine school.

“We started this during the 2021-22 financial year where we supported 70 marine students (35 males and 35 females) drawn from each of the 35 wards in the county” he said.

So far, the county has given out Sh6.7 million scholarships to 123 marine students.

Nyong’o lauded county education executive John Awiti for his department's committment and consistency in distribution of bursaries and scholarships.

He urged school principals to respect the contribution by promptly acknowledging and giving receipts to the county education department.

"Beneficiaries should ensure that compliance documents including school report forms, fee structures, academic transcripts and fee statements are given to us in good time," Nyong’o said.

Besides bursaries, he said his administration has expanded vocational training centres which have increased from 20 to 26.

The county has spent Sh206 million in capitation grants with commitment to increasing the allocation, Nyong'o said.

“We urge the youth to unroll in Vocational Training Colleges since the county guarantees partial payment of applicable fees of Sh15,000,” Nyong’o said.

He noted that ECD centres have increased to 684, of which 627 are anchored in primary schools while 57 are stand-alone public ECD centres.

"I want to challenge beneficiaries of bursary and scholarship to work hard and pass exams to transform their future through education,” Nyong’o said.