Former Rarieda Mps Eng. Nicolas Gumbo has thrown his weight behind those backing the proposal to consolidate the numerous bursary schemes into one kitty for the benefit of needy students in the country.
According to Eng. Gumbo, the proposal to amalgamate the bursaries funded by the tax payers, which was mooted by the National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, is an excellent idea provided that funds will be managed by an impartial committee for purposes of fair allocation.
A week ago, Wetang’ula asked members of parliament to generate policy on the consolidation of the funds and bring it to the house for debate and for possible adoption with a view to solving the problem of lack of fees for needy students occasioned by alleged irregular allocations of bursaries in the country.
“All this money comes from one source. We have bursaries by MCAs, Women Representatives, Members of Parliament, the Governors, the Ministry of Education, and even the Higher Education Loans Board. I want to challenge you to generate policy on consolidation and amalgamation of the bursary schemes, which we can debate on for all our children to access free education,” the speaker said.
Speaking in Rarieda Constituency, where he issued bursary cheques to 30 students from Siaya County to a tune of Sh300,000 through his Rarieda Education Support Action kitty, Gumbo pointed out that although the proposal by the speaker was brilliant, it’s realisation would be a big hurdle because the same leaders who are expected to pass the law use the allocation of funds for political mileage.
“Already there are MPs who have come out to stand against the proposal by the speaker, as on record in one of the leading daily newspapers last weekend. Locally here, this week an MP speaking at a funeral openly said that he gave a bursary to the children of a rich deceased friend. This shows you how the funds are managed selfishly,” Gumbo stated
The former legislator registered his reservations that the bill may not be passed by the national assembly, and in the event that it does, the leaders would still demand to control its management to retain influence over their electorates.
Gumbo, however, pointed out that even if the proposal falls through at the national level, the County Government of Siaya could still make local arrangements to ensure that all needy students benefit from the bursary kitties without duplication or some missing out.
“Currently there are about sixty thousand needy cases of the students from Siaya County in both high schools and universities in the country who should be taken care- of comfortably by bursaries from the governor, the six MPs, MCAs, and women representatives, which is close to a billion shillings each financial year,” said Gumbo.
He said that with the use of technology, it is possible to identify needy cases and also manage bursary allocation to all needy students without others missing out, as has been the case each year in Siaya County.
By Brian Ondeng’
