Baringo Governor Mr Stanley Kiptis on Wednesday launched a Sh30 million bursary to support bright and needy students across the seven sub counties.
While presiding over the event outside his Kabarnet office, the Governor said that the bursary will benefit 3,918 needy and bright children from poor households in the 30 wards across the county.
Kiptis flanked by his Deputy Jacob Chepkwony, County Executive Committee Member (CEC) for Education Dr. David Sergon and members of county assembly pointed out that the county government has since 2014 disbursed Sh257 million as bursary to vulnerable students in dire need of financial assistance.
“I would like to urge the parents to make sure that their children have joined school. I know that many parents are facing a lot of challenges owing to Covid-19 pandemic which has seen people lose jobs and source of livelihoods,” he said.
He advised parents to be close to their children and embrace the culture of understanding what they are going through to avoid issues such as teenage pregnancies.
The Deputy Governor in a rejoinder noted that since the onset of the programme, a total of 18,500 have benefited with school fees. Chepkwony challenged the county assembly to enhance the budget by channeling more money to bursary kitty saying there is need to increase the allocation for bursary progressively for more students to be catered for.
Dr. Sergon thanked the governor for launching the disbursement assuring parents and guardians that the selection process was an open policy where serious vetting was done before coming up with the number.
The CEC said that his department was working closely with Equity Bank in tracking the beneficiaries to make sure that their wellbeing is known especially after finishing studies.
“We are setting up a tracking kit for the students to trace their performance, and see whether they have proceeded to the next level,” Sergon said.
Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association Baringo County Secretary Fredrick Cheboiwo lauded the effort from the county stating that it will address issues of school fees which is a major challenge in schools within the region
The Association official added that the funds provided by the county government will go a long way in improving the performance of learners.
By Jebichii Chepkwony
