Nyandarua county assembly has approved the Bursary Fund Amendment Bill (2024) to include learners with disability.
Learners in private schools will also benefit from the fund.
In the new legislation, Section 5 of the Act has been amended to read: “The fund administrator and bursary committee shall ensure that there are funds available for affirmative action for persons living with disability.”
This will ensure there is a kitty earmarked for affirmative action.
The Act has also been amended to require the fund administrator to publish and publicise the list of all bursary applicants and successful applicants, including the amount awarded, at the ward offices and on the county website.
The new law also seeks to protect learners who are awarded full or partial scholarships and then withdrawn after a term or two, without justifiable reasons.
“An award of scholarship shall cover the entire period of study of the applicant…”
The amendments come after a motion sponsored by the representative of PWDs interests in the House, Joyce Munyua, on September 6, last year.
“Most parents were not able to educate their special needs children due to the special attention needed to look after them but now with this fund, parents will be able to take more children with special needs to school thus boosting the number of learners,” Munyua said.
She urged members of the Committee on Education, Children, Gender Affairs, Culture and Social Services to consider proposing an amendment to the Nyandarua county bursary fund Act, 2019.
The committee, which was chaired by Leshau Pondo MCA Gathungu Kamau, later formulated a legislative proposal for introduction to the House.
Key stakeholders involved in the process were the chief officer for Education, Children, Gender Affairs, Culture and Social Services; the chairperson of the county's umbrella body for PWDs and the director L’Arche Kenya.
