Fund to help needy students in Tharaka Nithi started

Tharaka-Nithi Governor Samuel Ragwa. He has said that his county government has started a county bursary fund to assist needy children. Each ward will get Sh2 million. PHOTO | FILE

What you need to know:

  • Governor Samuel Ragwa said the county had a role to play in boosting education.
  • He called on all education stakeholders to work together.
  • Mr Ragwa said the county had the potential to do better in KCPE and KCSE exams.
  • Each of the 15 wards in the county will get Sh2 million in bursary funds.

The Tharaka-Nithi government has introduced a county bursary fund to assist children from needy families access education.

Speaking in Maara constituency, Governor Samuel Ragwa acknowledged that the county had a role to play in boosting education even though it had not been devolved.

He said there was a lot of support needed in the education sector which would require leaders, teachers, parents and other education stakeholders to work hand in hand.

“There are so many young people who suffer for lack of school fees which keeps them in and out of school and this affects their performance,” he said.

He said they already had the support of the county assembly on the Bursary Bill, an indication that the Tharaka-Nithi assembly was in full support of boosting the education standards.

SH2M FOR EACH WARD

He said the Bill would ensure each of the 15 wards in the county gets Sh2 million in bursary funds, which would be given to the less fortunate in the county.

“I would like to urge the people to ensure only those in great need of assistance benefit from the fund to prevent the rich from taking advantage of this great cause that will see the bright and needy children get a chance to study,” he added.

Mr Ragwa, who was addressing education stakeholders in Maara constituency, called for support from school heads and teachers’ unions in the county to create a great education workforce.

“I am happy with our results in the last KCPE exams, which gave us hope and showed that our county has great potential in performing better in national exams both at primary and Secondary school levels,” said the governor.

IMPROVE KCSE RESULTS

He said there was need for the secondary schools in the county to put extra efforts in improving the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education results, which he said were still not in line with the county’s potential.

He said the number of students from the county who qualify to join university was lower that it should be, which meant the county produced fewer professionals in some crucial fields.

“We end up having few doctors and surgeons, who end up in other regions while we could have many to work in our health facilities,” he said.

Mr Ragwa said that education was crucial in improving the county in terms of development and added that his government fully supported the sector to ensure Tharaka-Nithi shined in the country.