MCAS TO CONTROL WARD BURSARY FUNDS. DO YOU TRUST YOUR FUNDS WITH THEM?

BY ADOW JUBAT

Garissa County Government will establish 15 million shillings bursary kitty to pay school fees for the needy, but bright children who performed well in their national exams.

Garissa Governor Nathif Jama disclosed this while congratulating, the top candidates in the last year's Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (K.C.P.E) national test in his County.

The governor while commending the top students and their parents for exemplary performing in the exams said the County government will establish bursary fund to sponsor children from poor background who do exemplary good in their K.C.P.E and K.C.S.E exam so to motivate others to follow suit, while at the same ensure no children in the County misses education due to lack of fees.

Jama said the Bill to see the operation of the same has passed the County assembly and it on its final stage for fine tuning before it is implemented soon adding that the fund will be run with mode of the CDF.

He said each of the 30 wards in the County will get shilling 500,000 allocation to help selected vulnerable children adding that the fund will be managed professional and fairly to avoid be abused by anything one.

However, some parents has expressed fears of abuse of the money for political persuasions, if as been proposed by the County assembly, which mandates the MCAs to be a powerful patron isn't reviewed before its assent by the Governor.

"Politicians are never honest and fair people, we urge the Governor not to assent the Bill proposing the establishing Ward bursary fund as long the MCAs want to have a big say on who the money is to be disbursed. If that happens then we are sure of favoritism, Clannism and political interests taking center stage" Hussein Osman a parent with needy children in Garissa town.

Governor Jama said some of the top needy students in the recent released National Examinations will be immediate beneficiaries of the kitty the sooner it gets implemented after scrutinizing it.

"Today I am happy to celebrate with you the good performance you showed us and to our county this will be an example for other pupil in the school to emulate you," he said while thanking the best candidates.

Some of the top pupils in the last K.C.P.E were Ibtisaam Mohamud Shurie of Young Muslim Primary who attained 426 marks and Hanan Mohamud of Mnara Junior academy with 416.

Jama at the same time called on Teachers Service Commission and Kenya National Union of teachers to agree so that the disrupted learning activities resumes forthwith in the public schools adding that it will adversely affect the performance of the innocent children who have no say in the confrontation between the union and the state.
According the county Education Director Adhan Sheikh Abdullahi 14 students from the county had scored above 400 marks out of possible 500 and all of them come from the private schools.

The governor said although primary and secondary education are not in the devolve system of governance the county government will invest resources to improve the performance of its children in the national examinations.

"This will be my year of hard work, seriousness and putting more effort to ensure schools leapt from the customary bottoms position to the top positions, we have the will and as leaders and stakeholders we will make sure school performance in our county is reversed for the better," he added.