Migori County has set aside Sh20 million for the Governor’s Scholarship Programme that is set to benefit 200 students.
Speaking at an event which was hosted in Migori Stadium, Migori Governor Zachary Obado highlighted that the Governor’s Scholarship Programme will support 75 girls and 125 boys.
Obado stated that the number of girls has been increasing since 2015. He pointed out that 61 girls were selected in 2020, a good indication that the girl child education was improving.
The 200 students who were selected from the 40 wards in Migori County will be joining form one this August to start their first term. The scholarship will be sponsoring the selected students for a period of four years of their secondary education.
Since its inception in 2015, the scholarship has benefited more than 1,300 students. Obado also stressed that other entities like Equity bank, Cooperative bank, Kenya Commercial bank and Family bank have been supporting the course to ensure that the less privileged, bright but needy students are able to continue with their high school education.
Recently, Elimu and Wings to Fly Scholarships by the National government and Equity bank gave scholarships to 198 students for a period of four years. The selected students will join high school this August to start their first term.
Governor Obado urged the Members of Parliament (MPs) to be at the forefront in championing education. He said that the MPs do receive Constituency Development Funds (CDF) but majority of them allocated students as low as Sh3,000 which he said cannot help the needy students in terms of school fees.
Migori Chief Officer for Education Ms Mary Midida advised the parents and guardians of the selected students to cooperate with the county government to ensure that the students achieve their dreams.
“I want to ask the guardians to play their part and guide these students when they are on holidays. We as a county government cannot do everything for these students,” reiterated Ms Midida.
Midida stressed that the guardians should ensure they provide pocket money and other necessities to ensure that their children are comfortable in school.
In attendance also was Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Migori Branch official Mr Caleb Opondi who advised the students to focus on their education as the only way to evade poverty.
Opondi asked the selected students that the governor was so focused on their education and their future and the only way to repay him was to ensure that they excelled in their education.
Obado promised to purchase carrier boxes, mattresses and other necessities to the students to ensure that they all joined form one without delay.
By Geoffrey Makokha
