The Council of Governors has finally struck a deal with the Controller of Budget regarding the controversial bursaries disbursement.
On Sunday, CoG chairman Ahmed Abdullahi issued a sharp warning to Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o, threatening to take action — including petitioning both houses of Parliament — to push for her removal from office.
The bone of contention is what he described as Nyakang’o’s persistent obstruction of the release of funds to counties, particularly bursary allocations meant to support needy students.
The latest standoff had been sparked by the introduction of a new set of disbursement conditions, referred to as the “blue checklist,” which counties must now comply with before funds are released to their accounts.
But on Wednesday Abdullahi said a deal had been struck, much to the delight and relief of thousands of students across the country whose future looked bleak.
Abdullahi spoke at Diif Education Day, which was attended by several leaders, including Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, who was the chief guest.
“We have finally agreed with the Controller of Budget that this year she allows us as counties to issue bursaries,” he said.
“We don’t want the issue of bursaries to be compartmentalised. We want it to be regarded as a social welfare matter. It is incumbent upon us to give an opportunity to others by supporting them. As we are all aware education is, indeed, an equaliser. Some of us are who we are because we went to school.”
Governor Abdullahi disclosed that he will soon be issuing Sh130 million and that Wajir South will get the highest allocation because it has the biggest number of wards.
He reiterated his administration's unwavering commitment to strengthening early childhood education so as to enhance foundational education for its youngest learners.
“We have allocated Sh150 million to construct Early Childhood Development Education classrooms in areas where teachers are available, but infrastructure remains lacking."
He called on parents, teachers, and community leaders to support the county’s efforts by ensuring that children are enrolled and attend ECDE regularly.
The Head of Public Service called on students to always maintain a high level of discipline and work hard in their studies to succeed in life.
He encouraged education officers and the Ministry of Education to ensure that there is competition among schools to improve examination results.
