The Lamu County government will allocate Shs. 127 million for bursaries for need and bright students from poor households during the 2018/2019 Financial Year.
The bursary kitty is designed to improve education standards in the hitherto marginalized county where education standards have been wanting.
Speaking to KNA in Lamu on Friday, Lamu governor Fahim Twaha Yassin stated that the bursaries will be disbursed during the 2018/2019 Financial Year.
The money, the governor said allocation will cater for students in all secondary and tertiary institutions from the county.
He recalled that during the 2017/2018 financial year,the county government allocated Shs. 60 million for bursaries and scholarships.
Governor Twaha stated that the huge budgetary allocation towards the improvement of education standards in by the county government is geared towards reducing school dropout rates for both boys and girls.
“The county’s KCSE mean score is still too low as compared to the national average, and it is our hope the county government allocation to education will help alleviate the situation,” Twaha stated.
In 2018 2932 candidates sat for the KCPE exams while in 2017 a total 2,339 sat for same the exam with mean scores of 240.18 and 231.29 respectively.
“The county government wants to ensure that no child is left behind in getting good education that is important towards improving the fortunes of our youths,” the governor stated.
He further added that students in Lamu interested in accessing scholarships for TVETs, University and Polytechnics should apply with the county government’s education department.
“We have the political will to improve education in Lamu, which has lagged behind and unless we improve our children’s fortunes in terms of education there is nothing else worthwhile we can leave with them,” he added.
His sentiments were echoed by the Lamu Education Chief Officer Francis Thairu, who stated that the county government has increased funding for bursaries across both Lamu West and Lamu East Constituencies that will be given out equitably.
He added that no student will be denied bursary when they apply and urged students who qualify for university to apply for scholarships.
Thairu said that students who complete their tertiary studies in Lamu polytechnic will be granted tools to start their own business ventures based on what they have studied.
“We want to encourage our youth that besides formal education, the county government is keen to provide them with tools and funding to facilitate self employment.
By Amenya Ochieng
