Kwale County government has started issuing Sh114million bursaries to 3,800 students in national schools.
Governor Salim Mvurya said beneficiaries under this category qualify for full scholarships and the disbursement will be concluded in all the four Sub-counties namely, Msambweni, Matuga, Lunga Lunga and Kinango before Christmas.
Mvurya was speaking Wednesday when he officially launched the bursary distribution exercise at Nyumba Mbovu grounds, Kinondo location, Msambweni Sub-county where cheques worth Sh24million were handed over to 585 students from various national schools.
Another 640 students who qualified for Form One places in national schools after topping in 2018’s Kenya Certificate of Education examination will be next in line and their fees will be paid early January, 2019, he added
He said fees for the rest of the beneficiaries will be paid from the Sh400 million County bursary kitty to their respective schools by the end of January under the county’s ‘Elimu ni Sasa’ initiative.
However, Mr. Mvurya and his Deputy, Ms. Fatuma Achani said eligibility for the support will continue to be pegged on student’s performance, warning that lazy ones risked being locked out of the sponsorship.
The beneficiaries must work extra hard in school to secure the support, the two said while expressing shock after it emerged that none of the students present at the event attained grade A in last term’s exams.
“Payment of the bursaries will be conditional upon the performance of individual students. We cannot continue paying bursaries for lazy beneficiaries because we must get value for the tax-payers’ money we spend on you,” warned Mr. Mvurya.
Ms. Achani challenged the students to take advantage of the initiative to improve on their performance to justify the assistance.
“This is a good initiative mooted because we care for your future but it will be of assistance only if you maintain a high performance tempo. It is so painful to find that your performance is wanting yet you are in some of the best schools,” she said.
Mr. Mvurya said the bursary fund which was started six years ago will be sustained as one of the strategies to revive the education sector that has been wanting over the years.
“The ultimate goal of these bursaries is to bolster education to transform the county through the creation of a pool of knowledgeable and highly skilled human resource base,” he said.
By Shaban Omar/James Muchai
