- Mwadime said many parents in the region are facing challenges in paying school fees due to the high cost of living.
- The bursaries will lessen the parents’ burden of paying school fees.
Image: SOLOMON MUINGI
Some 11,684 students from vulnerable families in Taita Taveta have benefited from bursaries under the county bursary scheme.
While launching the bursary programme in Taveta on Wednesday, Governor Andrew Mwadime asked well-wishers to donate towards the education scheme so as to keep students in school.
He said many parents in the region are facing challenges in paying school fees due to the high cost of living and rising poverty level caused by the ravaging drought.
The Sh60 million bursaries, Mwadime said, will be shared among beneficiaries from 15 out of the county’s 20 wards. The remaining five wards will be allocated Sh40 million, which will be released later this month.
“In this first bursary allocation, we are targeting secondary school and college students from this county. The bursaries will lessen the parents’ burden of paying school fees,” Mwadime said.
The county has set aside Sh100 million for bursaries to be shared among needy and bright students.
The county boss however revealed that his administration targets to double the allocation to Sh200 million per year in order to increase the scope and boost the quality of education in the region.
“Due to the increasing number of applicants and growing population, the county government will double the allocation from next financial year so that we can reach more students,” he said.
The governor said the county is working closely with the Higher Education Loans Board to help college and university students from the region access education loans at lower interest.
“More than 3,000 college and university students from this county have benefited from the low interest education loans since 2014 courtesy of a working deal between the county and Helb,” he said.
Further, some 643 college and university students who had applied for education loans will receive the loans by the end of April.
He said the county has allocated Sh10 million for the education loans where applicants will receive between Sh30,000 to Sh40,000.
Mwadime further said the county government will continue collaborating with other partners to source more funds to support the county scholarship programme.
Currently, he said, at least 400 students have been enrolled into the fully funded county scholarship programme.
Both the county scholarship and county bursary programmes are manned by the County Education Board.
Deputy Governor Christine Kilalo said the devolved unit has been facing challenges in supporting education due to the cash crisis facing county governments.
Kilalo said late disbursement of funds from the National Treasury has negatively affected the bursary programme hence the late issuance.
“We are faced with a cash crisis to fully support the education sector. It is for this reason that we are rooting for more partnerships with other stakeholders to support the sector,” Kilalo said.
She acknowledged the support that the county has received from different partners towards the support of education through bursaries, scholarships and improvement of infrastructure.
The partners include; Equity bank, Co-operative bank, KCB bank, Tsavo Foundation and Wildlife Works. Others are ABE Club, Kasighau Foundation, African Promise, Power Gen and World Vision among others.
The DG further advised learners to work hard, register good grades and uphold high discipline standards as ambassadors of the county.
-Edited by SKanyara