Teso North Member of Parliament, Oku Kaunya, has launched the disbursement of a Sh79 million bursary fund under the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF).
Out of the total amount, Sh40 million has been allocated to secondary schools, while the remainder will support students in tertiary institutions.
Secondary school students will each receive Sh5,000 from the bursary kitty.
About 60 students from the sub-county studying in national schools will receive full scholarships catered for by the NG-CDF bursary programme.
Over 10,900 students across Teso North applied for the bursary, with the selection committee approving 9,400 beneficiaries after a thorough vetting process.
Speaking at St. Joseph Kocholia Boys High School during the launch of the Sh40 million secondary school bursary disbursement, Kaunya urged beneficiaries to take advantage of the support by working hard and improving their academic performance.
He also called on parents to complement the bursary by settling the remaining school fees to ensure uninterrupted learning for their children.
The MP further urged school principals to avoid sending students home over fee arrears, instead encouraging dialogue with parents on flexible payment arrangements.
He warned that sending students home disrupts learning by reducing teacher-student contact hours, which ultimately affects academic performance.
“Last year, over 868 students from the constituency qualified for university. We expect more than 1,000 to qualify this year due to the continued investment and support in education,” he said.
To further boost performance, the MP announced plans to organize education days and provide motivation programmes for both teachers and students.
On tertiary education support, Kaunya noted that the NG-CDF has sponsored over 400 students to study at Kenya Medical Training Colleges (KMTC) under a full scholarship programme.
He added that the NG-CDF also offers full sponsorship under a special programme category for students pursuing courses such as Medicine, Engineering and Law, with two students already supported to undertake pilot training.
“The two students we have supported to pursue piloting have completed their Private Pilot License (PPL) and Commercial Pilot License (CPL) and are training on Multi-Engine Rating (MER),” he noted.
The area Deputy County Commissioner (DCC), Solomon Kitai, said the bursary programme is aimed at supporting needy students in line with the government’s policy of 100 per cent transition.
He noted that the selection committee conducted a thorough vetting process to ensure that only deserving and needy students benefited, adding that those left out came from families capable of paying school fees.
“Bursaries are meant for needy students to ensure that every child has an opportunity to access education,” he said.
Kitai also disclosed that the government’s Elimu Scholarship programme has benefited 20 students from the constituency out of more than 1,050 applicants.
By Moses Wekesa
