Kirinyaga County has moved to end months of uncertainty over education support after securing the legal approvals required to resume the disbursement of bursaries and scholarships. Governor Anne Waiguru said the Intergovernmental Partnership Agreements (IPAs) authorizing the county to administer the programmes have been cleared and forwarded to the Office of the Controller of Budget (OCOB) for final sign‑off.
“We have good news. The bursary/scholarship IPAs have now been cleared. The documents have been forwarded to OCOB, which should clear the last hurdle and allow the County to access the funds. We thank all stakeholders for their participation and patience,” Waiguru said in a statement on Wednesday.
The clearance unlocks funds that had been frozen following a standoff over whether counties can legally finance secondary and tertiary education. Under the Constitution, education beyond early childhood development is primarily a national government function, a position that prompted the Controller of Budget to block counties from directly spending on bursaries for secondary school, college, and university students without formal intergovernmental agreements.
In guidance issued by Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o, the division of functions under the Fourth Schedule was restated, placing universities, tertiary institutions, primary and secondary schools under the national government, while assigning pre‑primary and village polytechnics to counties. Nyakang’o directed that any county seeking to support learners in levels designated as national functions must do so through a duly executed intergovernmental agreement.
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The freeze left thousands of needy learners in limbo, as counties had long supplemented national programmes such as HELB and state bursaries to keep students in school. To resolve the impasse, the national and county governments agreed to use IPAs as a legal framework for collaboration, enabling counties to run bursary and scholarship schemes as delegated programmes aligned with national policy.
Under the IPA arrangement, counties can administer education support with clear oversight and accountability, provided the agreements are executed by authorized officials and published in the Kenya Gazette. Kirinyaga’s successful clearance means the county can now legally access and disburse funds to eligible students, offering relief to families struggling with school fees and related costs amid a high cost of living.
The move is expected to particularly benefit learners from vulnerable households who rely on county bursaries to remain in school. It also signals a broader shift toward cooperative governance between national and county levels, ensuring support reaches more students without breaching constitutional boundaries.
Kirinyaga County is set to release bursary and scholarship funds under the new legal framework once approved by the COB.
By Masaki Enock
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