[Image]Samburu County plans to establish village bursary committees so as to curb corruption and ensure equitable disbursement of funds.Alleged swindlers had been acting as middlemen between ignorant parents and county officials to sell bursaries to the parents for a fee.The plan will also increase enrolment for nomadic pastoralists' children, Governor Jonathan Lelelit said.RELATEDParties to call up 559 women to fill assemblies gender gapCounties 3 hours agoState beefs up security in trouble spots ahead of verdictNews 3 hours agoFor a long time, education in this arid region has been a difficult and emotive issue because children of nomadic pastoralists are involved in work to help their families from an early age.But Mr Lelelit said village bursary committees will help identify school-age children in needy families to benefit from bursaries."I will increase the bursary kitty so that many school-going children [can] benefit. The village bursary committees will help us in identifying needy families in villages across all 15 wards in Samburu County," Mr Lelelit said.He added: "We will also devolve the bursary bank accounts to all the 15 wards."The governor also said his administration plans to build Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) centres in more remote areas.Though enrolment in ECDE had risen 117 percent, education remains a distant dream for many other children in Samburu County because of insecurity, natural calamities and retrogressive cultural practices, among other factors."We are seeking to execute our plan to build more ECDE centres in areas currently not covered. We will equip them properly and this will help increase enrolment rates in this nomadic region," he said.Statistics from the Education department showed that about 43,000 children are enrolled in ECDE.Mr Lelelit said his administration wants to build better learning facilities and improve the nutrition of children.A majority of children in Samburu often drop out of school due to the nomadic lifestyle. The inability to complete basic education consigns them to the vicious cycle of poverty that affects most households in the community.The county has built over 580 ECDE classrooms and 110 sanitary blocks since the advent of devolution. It has also recruited about 470 ECDE teachers. BY DAILY NATION
posted by Breaking Kenya news at 14:39 on 7 Sept 2022
"Samburu works to cushion parents from bursary swindlers"
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