• The new Bill has instead proposed that all county students be eligible for bursaries and scholarships.
• Students, mostly from vulnerable backgrounds, depend on the county funded loans to facilitate their education.
Image: SOLOMON MUINGI
Hundreds of students pursuing higher education in universities and other tertiary institutions in Taita Taveta county will no longer get loans from the County Education Fund.
The students, mostly from vulnerable backgrounds, depend on the county-funded loans to pay for their education.
On Wednesday, the county assembly passed the Taita Taveta County Education Fund Bill 2023, which halts the issuance of education loans by the devolved unit.
The ward reps said they scrapped off the provision of loans due to low repayment and high default rates.
The bill has instead proposed that all students in the county be eligible for bursaries and scholarships, which will be managed by an education board.
According to the Early Childhood Development Education, Libraries and Vocational Training Committee chairperson Joseph Mabishi, the amendments were made to prevent further loss of county funds.
Many parents, he said, also decried inability to repay the loans necessitating the need to scrap off the kitty.
"We realised a dwindling repayment and poor recovery of the loans by the county and that’s a clear indication that the beneficiaries were overwhelmed," he said.
The Chawia MCA revealed that the committee had received several complaints from residents decrying deductions to loans that they never benefited from thus exposing them to unbearable debts.
“We have received complaints from residents who claimed to be servicing county education loans which they never received," Mabishi said.
He said there have been discrepancies in allocation and disbursement of the education loans, noting that the fund did not benefit the scholars.
"The committee considered the plight of many parents who submitted written memoranda asking the assembly to consider the review of higher education loans issued to county students," Mabishi said.
His Mbololo ward counterpart Lawrence Mzugha said the new Bill will help improve education standards in the county since all eligible students will benefit from bursaries and scholarships.
"This will encourage students to improve their grades to get the scholarships," he said, further urging students to take advantage of the changes and consider improving on their academics.
He said the Bill will further ease the burden of debts to students as no more loans will be issued.
The new education kitty will be managed by a board which shall be appointed by the governor and approved by the county assembly. The county boss will be the patron to the board.
Previously, the county had allocated Sh10 million for the education loans where applicants were to receive between Sh30,000 to Sh40,000
Further, the Governor Andrew Mwadime administration had set aside Sh100 million for bursaries to be shared among needy but bright students.
The county 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.