Garissa County government has disbursed bursaries amounting to Sh40 million to 1,749 needy students in tertiary institutions.
The 40 million tranche is part of the Sh100 million-scholarship kitty set aside by the county government for this financial year.
Among the beneficiaries are Garissa University which was allocated Sh6.9 million, Garissa Medical Training College Sh1.6 million, North Eastern Polytechnic Sh600 000 and Orma University Sh3.2 million.
While issuing the bursary cheques to principals and heads of institutions at Garissa FTC, Governor Ali Korane said that all sub counties in Garissa were considered in a fair disbursement where bursary committees representing each sub county were drawn from grassroots level.
Korane regretted that paying fees for most people in the county has always been a challenge due to high poverty levels.
He said the vicious cycle of drought had pushed many parents into poverty making it hard for them to afford education for their children.
“Most of our people are poor and cannot afford to pay the school fees. As a government, we are committed to ensure that we improve the literacy levels in this county by investing in education,” Korane said.
The governor further said that lack of adequate teachers was a major challenge to the performance of education in the region.
He urged young people from the county to prioritize teaching profession careers to overcome challenges of lack of teachers in the region.
By Erick Kyalo
