SAKAJA: Scrapping county bursaries would sink poor students

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja.

It is not practical to scrap county bursaries. ­

The reality is that many of our people are struggling. Many parents do not have money to pay their children’s school fees. ­

The facilities that are under the county governments are at both ends of the spectrum – Early Childhood Education Centres and Technical Vocational Education and Training.

So, we can always have a way.

We can even call it a welfare kitty but it is not possible to do away with bursaries in counties. We have got so many learners who would have been out of school were it not for the county bursaries.

We should move away from being too legalistic about some of these issues and realise that we are dealing with those whose futures are at stake.

In many places, many children rely on these bursaries.

In Nairobi, we have signed an intergovernmental agreement with the national government to carry out some of these functions because we cannot afford to have our vulnerable children leave school because of the lack of fees.

Today, water is a devolved function.

Should I not supply water to primary or secondary schools because education at that level is not devolved? It is not practical.

So, while some of these recommendations may be sound, they are not practical.

We should make recommendations with an eye on that girl or boy who entirely depends on bursaries for education.

What the senators should recommend is the government should increase the allocation towards bursaries so that we can support these children.

Without bursaries, some of us would not have been where we are today.

Let us make education available for our children who cannot afford it. ­

That is what the constitution says. ­

That is what the Bible says.

So, let us be sensitive to the plight of that girl in Kibera, that boy in Kawangware, and those who cannot go to school in Kakamega, Lamu and every corner of this country.

Nairobi governor spoke to Star