- Aseka said he will not allow government money to be wasted on irresponsible students due to their misbehaviour
- Many pregnant girls who were on the scholarship had dropped out of schools
Image: HILTON OTENYO
Khwisero MP Christopher Aseka now wants teen mothers, pregnant teens and unruly students on the constituency NG-CDF bursary and scholarship programme removed.
This, the lawmaker said, will serve as a form of punishment to the irresponsible learners for misusing taxpayer’s money.
Aseka said he had instructed all school principals to identify such cases in their institutions and forward for termination of their sponsorship.
The MP, who addressed over 1,000 parents and students benefiting from the bursary programme at Mwihila Boys high school, said he will not allow government money to be wasted on irresponsible students due to their misbehaviour.
“We cannot be crying of 14,000 teenage mothers who are students and be spending government resources to reward irresponsibility and misbehaviour. They must be punished by withdrawing the scholarships and giving them to others who want to utilise the funding to excel in their academics,” Aseka said.
He said some girls had been lost due to early pregnancies after being lured with a hundred shillings.
“And if we find out that you are under CDF scholarship program and are pregnant we will automatically terminate your scholarship. I have no apologies for this,” he added.
Aseka said many pregnant girls who were on the scholarship had dropped out of school.
A number of the "irredeemably unruly students" have so far been removed from the programme, the MP noted, adding that more will be removed, especially those engaged in drug abuse or other forms of indiscipline.
Image: HILTON OTENYO
Aseka pledged to work with parents and the local administration to identify and delist students on the programmes who attend "disco matangas".
He said the many night activities during funerals and death anniversaries in the constituency have greatly contributed to teen pregnancies.
“We are serious with this program because we have seen it helping students advance their education. If a student is found showing disrespect to parents under this program their scholarship will also be terminated and that is why we want parents to take a lead role and own the program by sharpening their children to have good morals and discipline.”
Early this year, Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka called for legislation to ban pregnant teens from being readmitted to schools.
Lusaka said that this would help curb rising cases of teenage pregnancies in the country.
“The current situation where teen girls can return to the classroom after delivery and even when pregnant is contributing to the normalisation of the issue,” he said.
Lusaka maintained that prohibiting pregnant girls from attending classes would act as a deterrent against irresponsible behaviour.
According to the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, 20 counties reported the highest numbers of pregnancies among girls aged between 10 and 19 years.
Nairobi tops that list with 452 cases followed by Kakamega with 328. Other counties on the list include Bungoma, Nakuru, Kiambu, Kilifi, Meru, Kisii, Machakos and Narok.