By Philemon Kiprop
Marakwet West parliamentary aspirant Timothy Toroitich has promised to increase the bursary kitty in his constituency’s NG-CDF to facilitate international scholarships.
Toroitich says education overseas will be the key to unlocking potential of human resource that will lead to innovation and eventual improvement in the region which he terms as lagging behind
Speaking exclusively to Education News, Toroitich said a majority of the youth lack finances to further their studies, a factor he attributed to the high poverty level in the constituency and lack of political goodwill.
The aspirant who is vying on an independent ticket says that if elected his administration will increase the allocation of funds for tertiary institutions which will see a portion of it utilized for overseas scholarships.
“Our thinking on education matters must take a paradigm shift towards empowerment of our people through education. This will go a long way in contributing to personal and general development. As soon as a student secures a scholarship in Finland, within six months the students will have acquired paid training and in turn contribute to development back home,” he said.
While the cost of airlifting students costs a whooping 1.5 million shillings, he said the CDF kitty provide one million shillings whereas the rest will be offset by the family.
He at the same time said that secondary schools development will be prioritized in a bid to improve education standards. He singled out equipping of laboratories and expansion of infrastructure as a way of ensuring quality education in the schools.
