Kisumu County Government has issued scholarships worth Sh45 million, benefiting 9,772 disadvantaged students in the district.
The scholarships will benefit the 2020 Kenya Certificate for Primary Education (KCPE) graduates to join public and additional auxiliary schools in August.
While awarding the scholarships, Kisumu Deputy Governor, Dr Mathew Owili, said that the Maritime Province had awarded 160,722,826 shillings as scholarships and grants to students in schools, colleges, universities and driving school universities in the last two years.
Owili added that the region had expanded its scholarship allocation by 100% from Sh105 million to Sh205 million.
According to Dr Owili, this means that students from low-income families will be able to exercise their right to education, allowing them to pursue their desired professions.
He said that the initiative would be implemented in phases, with Nyakach sub-county being the first to receive a distribution of Sh12.4 million, followed by Seme and Kisumu Central sub-counties
Since the beginning of the current year, the district has distributed Sh57,230,025 as grants to about 1,260 beneficiaries in colleges and driving schools.
Additionally, the district gives entire grants to 70 understudies from 35 counties to study at the Marine Training School. The revenue was remitted to the institution half a month ago during the visit of President Uhuru Kenyatta in Kisumu city.
Parents were requested to urge their children to apply for scholarships from July 2021 and consider courses that would enable their children to specialize in marine-related fields.
The county has obtained Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) instead of the usual technique of sending cheques to schools.
In addition, the county offers a full governor’s scholarship to brilliant students from modest backgrounds in the region who score more than 350 in the KCPE.
David Arao, the Railway Ward MCA, who is also the administrator of the Education Committee, criticized the disbursement, pointing out that the late allocation of the scholarships to schools disrupts students’ learning as principals always send them away due to lack of school fees.
He said that the tuition money should reach the schools early enough to avoid inconveniencing the vulnerable youths.
The CEC for Education, ICT and Human Capacity Development officer, John Awiti, said Kisumu is rated among the top counties in awarding scholarships.
The province has increased scholarships and grants from Shs105 million in the 2020/2021 financial year to Shs210 million in the 2021/2022 financial year.
Apart from this, guardians and students have been encouraged to apply for scholarships offered by Equity Bank’s “Wings to Fly”, Kenya Commercial Bank, Cooperative Bank and other sponsors.
This is a relief for guardians preparing to take their children to certain optional schools by August 2, 2021, after the form-one schools selection ended.
Kenneth Ochieng
