At least 27, 800 bright and needy students from various day secondary schools across Embu County have received bursaries worth Sh. 64 million from the devolved unit.
This comes as relief for the parents of needy learners who had to brace for tough times owing to hard economic times occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The beneficiaries who are drawn from 260 schools received amounts ranging between Sh. 2, 000 to Sh. 10, 000 depending on the level of need according to County Executive Committee (CEC) Member for Education John Kiamati.
Speaking while issuing cheques to school principals at Embu Talent Academy, Kiamati said the amount disbursed was phase one of the County Education Support Fund.
He announced that plans were underway to ensure phase two and three funds set to benefit needy learners in boarding secondary schools, tertiary intuitions and universities were processed and disbursed on time.
The CEC appealed to fund managers to ensure the process of recruitment was above board to ensure no deserving case was left out.
The CEC also called on policy makers to initiate another bursary scheme that will ensure some of the brightest needy students are offered full scholarships.
MCAs present during the occasion called on the county government to prioritize education by ensuring funds allocated for bursaries are released on time to make sure beneficiaries are not chased away from school for nonpayment of fees.
“Releasing of funds and implementation of projects has always been the biggest challenge we have had despite playing our role of allocating funds on time,” complained Duncan Ireri who doubles up as Education Committee Chair.
By Samuel Waititu
