Imenti North Legislator, Rahim Dawood, has applauded the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation for providing full scholarships to some of the neediest students in the Constituency.
During the commissioning of the scholarship program at Kinoru Day Secondary School, Rahim emphasized the potential of the move to enhance education in the most remote and needy areas of the Constituency, ultimately improving their economic status.
He highlighted that, today’s scholarships are crucial as they cover fees, uniforms, upkeep, and transport expenses for students to and from their schools. This cannot be compared to the bursaries that are usually issued by the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NGCDF),” said Mr Rahim.
He added that the scholarship will go a long way in ensuring that the beneficiaries acquire education and meet their future life aspirations.
The MP continued to shade more light on the importance of preventing peer pressure during secondary school, as it often leads to trouble for beneficiaries.
“These are the few who are chosen but it didn’t mean that all those unsuccessful applied were not needy. We are, therefore, calling on other goodwill individuals or organisations to chip- in and sponsor a few other students in the spirit of boosting our literacy levels.”
Rahim called on the Ministry of Finance through the treasury to release NG-CDF funds as soon as possible to issue bursaries to learners who have always depended on the same for their education.
Imenti North Sub- County Director of Education, Joseph Njeru, who was the Secretary to the County Selection Advisory Committee, said they received a total of 284 applications and most of them needed support.
He, however, said the foundation could not sponsor all of them which means that there is a need for more interventions so that the needy learners can have access to education.
The Ministry of Education set criteria for 31 beneficiaries, including assessing orphan status, poverty index, disability cases, chronic diseases, and marginalization in families.
By Dickson Mwiti
