Siaya governor, James Orengo on Wednesday launched a Sh75 million bursary scheme in honour of the late Professor George Magoha who passed on Tuesday evening.
Orengo said that Magoha served the country well in many capacities in and out of the country and deserves to be honoured.
“As we launch this bursary scheme, we do so in honour and appreciation of a great son of Siaya,” said Orengo who had earlier led top county government officials and the public present in observing a minute of silence in honour of the late Professor.
The governor said Kenyans must continue working hard in their respective fields in honour of the professor who left a mark as a no- nonsense cabinet secretary for education where he is credited with bringing sanity to the country’s national examinations.
On bursaries, Orengo appealed to the ward administrators and other officials involved in selection of beneficiaries to be transparent and uphold integrity in the process.
The governor, who was flanked by his deputy, Dr William Oduol, said that in order to ascertain legitimacy of those selected to benefit from the bursary, he intends to visit every ward in the county to ensure only those who are truly needy are awarded.
Orengo also called for accountability in awarding the bursaries by having the final lists of beneficiaries from every ward being countersigned by the respective MCA citing it a way to boost public confidence in the scheme and to ensure no deserving individual is left out.
A total of 10,000 students from across the Siaya are set to benefit from the county education bursary fund.
The Governor, noting that the disbursed amount may not be enough to address the need for bursaries to support the less fortunate learners, expressed optimism that his administration will increase the amount significantly in the next financial year.
“We are going to make sure that as many people as possible benefit as 80 per cent of our learners are in day secondary schools and that is one of the areas we shall focus on more as well as the TVETS and other institutions,” said Orengo.
By Calvin Otieno and Philip Onyango
