Kapenguria Member of Parliament (MP), Samuel Moroto has urged school heads to look for alternative ways of ensuring parents pay fees, such as consulting with education stakeholders so that they could benefit from the various educational grants.
Moroto also challenged parents to liaise with various education support systems, including applying for bursaries from the National Government Constituency Development Fund available at his office among other kitties.
Speaking at St. Francis School for the Visually Impaired on Wednesday, Moroto said it was painting a bad picture seeing students move around in town centres in the name of having been sent home for non-payment of school fees.
This comes after concerns from members of the public that many students from the region were being spotted in uniform going home after being released from school to collect fees.
At the same time the Kapenguria legislator regretted that learning had been interrupted at Kapedo, owing to the security operation in the area calling for dialogue to get a lasting solution to the insecurity challenge that has persisted for long.
”Kapedo-like insecurity has been witnessed in other areas before, but through dialogue and other possible ways has worked before in those other areas that were conflicting. I am deeply concerned with the lives of the students at Kapedo as they are stuck between education and security but at the end they have to sit for their national exams soon,” said Mr. Moroto.
St. Francis School for the visually impaired which is sponsored by the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) received cheques worth Sh.200,000 and Sh.150,000 from the church meant for improvement of the learners’ welfare in the secondary and primary school sections respectively.
ACK Kitale Diocese, Bishop Emmanuel Chemengich’s wife Dorcas Chemengich announced during the event to present the cheques from the church, that she will sponsor four students from vulnerable backgrounds with Sh.5, 000 each.
Mrs. Chemengich disclosed that her office was eager to get applications for sponsorship for those students from the institution who are more vulnerable.
The school which is the only one of its kind has plans of relocating the secondary school section so that they do not share the same compound.
Bishop Chemengich on his part mentioned that there was need for upgrading of the institution to make sure that its borders go beyond the North Rift region and expand to the whole nation because it does not only belong to the people who come from that region.
“If we package ourselves very well and are able to reach out to different stakeholders and sponsors, all the plans for this school shall work out well,” advised Chemengich on the need for documenting needs and requests early by the school heads.
The ceremony was marked by prayers for the candidates of both the KCPE and KCSE this year, as it is said that putting God first above everything is important while the best performing students were assured of scholarships in their higher education.
by Edith Jesang/Richard Muhambe
