About 70 students from Maragwa constituency are set to benefit from Sh3.8 million education endowment fund.
The fund that was started last year is aimed at sponsoring bright students from poor families through to their secondary education.
Area MP Mary Waithira said the about Sh9 million kitty will be expanded annually through fundraising so as to target a higher number of students.
Speaking Wednesday after issuing bursaries to some of the students, the MP called on her colleagues to come up with such initiatives to uplift education standards in the County which she said was declining each year.
The fund is besides the Sh27million bursaries set aside from the area constituency fund kitty.
This week, County Governor Mwangi Wa Iria disbursed Sh17million bursaries to students across the County to help in their education
Local leaders have since criticized the Governor for failing to prioritize education in his agenda claiming that Sh17million was way below compared to what other counties have set aside as bursaries to their students.
“Our neighbours Machakos and Makueni Counties have issued bursaries in hundreds of millions yet we give out Sh17million. How many people can benefit from such an amount? She Posed
She feared that such neglect will affect the standards of education in the County compared to other counties.
She raised concern over the dwindling performance in national exams, which saw the County ranked 43 country-wide.
“We need to invest heavily in education for the future of this county. We receive close to Sh.8billion annually from the national treasury yet we can only afford to invest Sh.17million in basic education. How then will we improve our education standards?” she wondered.
By Muoki Charles
