Three hundred students from Siaya will benefit from a Sh4.8 million bursary courtesy of the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF), Siaya Women Representative Dr. Christine Ombaka has said.
Speaking during the launch of the bursary fund at the Wagai resource centre in Gem constituency, Dr. Ombaka said that the beneficiaries have been drawn from all the 30 wards in the county.
The legislator said that each of the beneficiaries would have his or her education funded by the fund from form one to the highest level.
She however lamented that the funds allocated to support the education of the needy could not sufficiently cover the needs of the beneficiaries and most of them owed the institutions thousands of shillings as fee balances.
“The fees that we pay is Sh10,000 per child which is not enough and many students have huge balances” she said.
Dr. Ombaka called on Members of Parliament to increase more allocation to the NGAAF kitty through necessary legislations to enable it reach needier students.
“I am taking this opportunity to continue appealing to my colleagues in parliament to add more allocation to NGAAF because we are touching the hearts of everybody,” she said.
Siaya NGAAF coordinator Nancy Okademi said the fund was supporting the education of 10 students per ward in the county.
She supported calls by Dr. Ombaka to have the government allocate more funds to NGAAF to enable it reach more beneficiaries.
During the occasion, Sh4 million was issued to various women groups to economically empower them.
By Philip Onyango
