The Teso North Constituency NG-CDF has awarded a four-year full scholarship to 24 students who scored above 400 marks in the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE).
Speaking at the NGCDF office in Amagoro while issuing cheques and letters to the students, Teso North MP Oku Kaunya, however, urged the government to increase CDF funds to 5% of the total budget.
The Legislator applauded the Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Moses Wetang’ula, for offering a one-year scholarship to two students, Stacy Adhiambo and Lavin Maira, who have joined the prestigious Alliance Girls High School from Malaba Township Primary School.
“The speaker’s gesture to pay Form 1 fees for two students is appreciated, with payment resumed in 2024. Two other students with over 400 marks have been sponsored by other charitable organizations. Five recipients of the NG-CDF have been admitted at Lugulu Girls School. They are Belinda Lizy Tata, Gracious Blessing, Susa Wanja, Beric Iswan, and Dibora Toto,” he said.
Three students have been picked to pursue their education careers at Fiends School Kamusinga. They include Anickson Etyang, Roy Riziki, and Seth Eliza. Sebastian Prayis and Gerald Esirom will pursue their dreams at Kapsabet Boys, while Ino Leslie Karani has joined Alliance Boys High School and Kyle Emuria from Leonana School.
Others are Happy Brian (Nairobi School), Manghoja Yusuf (Kakamega High), Joseph Odhiambo (St. Patrick’s Iten), and Zeitun Hussein (Pangani Girls). The company paid Ksh20, 000 for each student’s tuition fee and provided a commitment letter to clear the balance once the National Treasury released CDF funds for the last financial year.
Hon. Kaunya expressed disappointment that no constituency received CDF for 2023–2024 and plans to request an emergency special sitting to release funds for more students. The MP thanked the National Government for offering bursaries to 29 students from the sub-county, Farida SACCO one student, and Equity Bank four students under the Wings to Fly programme.
The county government should allocate more funds to sponsor more secondary education students to combat poverty. Since its introduction in 2021, Teso North NG-CDF has spent over Ksh12 million on a programme that sponsors students with 400 marks to university level.
Hon. Kaunya plans to expand the special programme from 52 to 100 to boost the number of pilots, engineers, doctors, and lawyers, with 16 lawyers and eight engineers already aduating. “I thank parents, pupils, and teachers for producing record top grades in KCPE. I also thank Kolanya Girls National School for emerging as the second-best school in 2023 KCSE,” he said.
Kaunya aims for Teso North to be a model constituency with top schools and KMTC, with Alex Oluka and Yvonne Idewa emerging as top students.
By Absalom Namwalo
