Nakuru Governor, Susan Kihika has urged Secondary School administrations to stop sending students home because of lunch levies.
She said the institutions should understand that basic education was a constitutional right for every child in Kenya and they should be allowed to learn without unnecessary interruptions.
Speaking during the launch of the Nakuru County Government Bursary fund for the Financial Year 2022/2023, the Governor said she was aware that the schools require money for daily operations.
The bursary for this financial year was released in one tranche of close to Sh178 million which is also the largest in the county since devolution.
“The county is committed to supporting needy students through bursaries to ensure that they remain in school throughout the term and get quality education,” said Kihika.
She said the fund was meant to give hope to the hopeless and support the dreams that are threatened by a lack of resources for education.
The biggest beneficiary of this tranche was Naivasha Sub-County with 8.2 million beneficiaries followed by Nakuru Town West, Molo and Nakuru Town East respectively.
Kuresoi North got the least beneficiaries at slightly higher than two million Kuresoi South took 2.6 while Subukia got 2.8 million.
She said in addition to the effects of poverty and other obstacles to access to education, her administration supported children with special needs to make them self-reliant.
She added that her team in the education department had realised that there were needy cases in Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) and promised to consider this section in her next bursary disbursement.
“Institutions and individuals should work with the county government to help the needy students, especially those living with disabilities to access education,” she said.
Kihika said the bursary program would also support Technical and Vocational Education courses such as driving, carpentry and hair-dressing to equip the youth with skills for self-employment.