Murang’a county is in a process of transforming a scholarship programme into a foundation.
Governor Mwangi wa Iria said the programme, which was initiated in 2019, will be transformed into a foundation to seek financial support from private partners in order to support more poor children.
The scholarship programme currently relies on financial support from the county.
The governor said the support given through the county scholarship programme dubbed 'Nyota Zetu' ends after the learners clear their secondary education.
The programme has benefited close to 4,500 needy students.
“Already we have a law in place to protect the programme even in other governments to come but we want the initiative to attract support from private partners and also track the beneficiaries after they clear their secondary education," he said.
“We want to make the initiative sustainable so that in future the beneficiaries will also support other needy students in the county,” Wa Iria said when he distributed Sh105 million scholarships to needy students on Sunday.
The first batch of 'Nyota Zetu' beneficiaries are expected to sit for their KCSE exam by the close of this year, with Wa Iria saying they will be the first members to be registered in the foundation.
He further said the county has already utilised close to Sh400 million in the programme where fees of the learners is fully paid.
“Every year we have been sponsoring 1,000 needy students, but in the 2022 academic year, we picked 1,500 learners," he said.
"Selection of the beneficiaries is done by community leaders, primary school heads and the clergy to ensure all those who deserve the support are picked.”
He said having the foundation will help improve education standards in the county as no child will miss to proceed to secondary school due to financial challenges.
Wa Iria asked the governor who will take over from him to ensure poor children continue to get the scholarship, saying the programme had saved many needy students.
“Through 'Nyota Zetu', the county was able to ensure poor children joined secondary schools where they were admitted," he said.
"Initially some parents opted to take their children to day schools since they could not afford fees for national and extra-county schools."
(edited by Amol Awuor)
