There is a need to harmonize allocation of bursaries to avoid confusion and duplication in the exercise, Thika Deputy County Commissioner Mbogo Mathioya says.
Mathioya said most deserving students miss out on bursaries due to the confusions in the number of scholarships being given in a specific area.
He cited bursaries given by the county government, members of the county assemblies, NG-CDF, the national government Elimu scholarship and Equity Bank’s Wings to Fly among others saying some should be harmonized.
“There is a lot of confusion and duplication in the issuance of bursaries, be it through the constituencies, wards, governor’s office, donor organizations or the Ministry of Education. There is a need to have all the funds brought under one pool to be able to serve only the needy,” Mathioya said.
He was speaking during the commissioning of Equity Bank’s Wings to Fly and Elimu Scholarships Programs for Kiambu County at Thika High School.
He also faulted the requirement that applicants of bursaries should produce voter’s cards saying deserving learners are left out in the allocations because their parents are not voters in a particular electoral area or they may be perceived by the incumbent political leader as supporters of their opponents
“The demand to have applicants produce their voters’ cards is not fair and should be done away with. This is an injustice to our children and the bursary allocations must be done purely on merit,” Mathioya said.
Kiambu Deputy Governor Dr. Joyce Ngugi and Equity Bank’s Managing Director Gerald Warui also attended the event where 167 pupils from needy families from the county were awarded cheques to enable them pursue secondary education
Ngugi said the county government will chip in and support some of the over 1,300 applicants who were left out of the scholarships.
“As we move in to help those who did not benefit, I am appealing to other stakeholders and people of good will to come forward and support these needy families,” she said.
Warui said out of the successful candidates, Equity Bank will sponsor 81 learners for their 4-year secondary education and beyond.
By Maurine Kyalo and Muoki Charles
