The County Government of Makueni has awarded scholarships to 81 students pursuing studies in various courses in universities spread across the country.
Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr said the beneficiaries were bright but needy students from less privileged backgrounds whose secondary education was also sponsored by the county government.
“These students are from humble family backgrounds. We are happy they have completed secondary school courtesy of the county government; they have passed well and have been called to pursue various courses in university,” said Mutula while addressing the students at Makueni Integrated Vocational Empowerment Centre (MIVEC) on Monday.
“We are confident that the students will either get jobs or be self-employed through the courses like Clinical medicine, Electrical Engineering, medicine and surgery, and civil engineering that they will pursue in various universities. As a government, we will continue to support them in their education,” he added.
Consequently, the governor challenged the students to focus on their studies once they join university, saying they should set priorities well by attending all lessons in a bid to enable them to excel in their studies.
In this regard, he reminded them that they will be submitting their results every year while saying the Department of ICT, Education and Internship will monitor their progress each year.
“Every end of the session, you will submit your results. Our officers will monitor you as they did in secondary education. You should represent us well; remember the country and the county are waiting to contribute to change in our economy,” he noted.
During the event, the county government rewarded 12 students who scored an A with briefcases.
On the recent reduction of university fees, Mutula asked the Cabinet Secretary (CS for Ministry Education, Migos Ogamba) to stop putting conditions on students saying this was impacting negatively on their education.
Instead, the governor advised the CS to ensure the ministry has clear policies that will help students pursue education without conditions that will hamper them from progressing in their studies.
“Education CS should give clear direction that has no conditions and that will not frustrate students as they pursue university education. This sector requires consistency so that there are no changes each year,” posed Mula.
One of the conditions states that a student will pay half of the fees of the course they are undertaking.
Present at the function included County Executive Committee Member for the department of ICT, Education and Internship Japheth Mang’oka, the Chief Officer (CO) Irene Makau; Machakos Boys High School Chief principal Benson Manoo; and other government officials.
By Patrick Nyakundi
