The Narok County Government bursary office has dismissed allegations on social media platforms that the recently issued cheques to needy and vulnerable students, were fake and had been rejected at banking institutions.
Bursary Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Daniel Meshuko said out of 50, 000 cheques they had already printed, only 129 copies had errors and would be rectified before being presented in the bank.
The errors in the printed copies included a mismatch of names with the beneficiary learning institution and the amount in figures not matching with the amount in words.
He, however, explained that it was a normal error that occurs when cheques are being printed in bulk, saying they were targeting to print 70,000 cheques for the Sh450 million bursary issued this financial year.
“There is no cheque that has bounced in the bank. If there is any, it would be returned back to my office with an official stamp at the back. I do not see the reason why any cheque should bounce in the bank because we have credited the banks with enough money,” he reiterated.
He added that the cheques were written when the learners were at home for the holiday, and the learners had been requested to hand over the cheques to their respective schools’ bursars, who would present the cheques to the bank.
“If we have any bouncing cheque, then it’s the school bursars who should raise the issue so that we can correct the mistake immediately. But as we speak now, there is no school that has raised an issue with the cheques,” the CEO added.
The clarification comes in the wake of claims circulated on social media platforms that the cheques issued by the County Government were bouncing when presented to financial institutions.
This raised tension among thousands of learners and their parents who depend on the bursary kitty to pay their school fees.
Over 70,000 needy and vulnerable children have benefitted from the County Government bursary scheme in the financial year 2024/2025.
By Ann Salaton
