By Erick Nyayiera
Siaya County Government has supported over 80,000 students for their education over the last eight years, with the county government cumulatively spending Sh.591 million since the inception of devolution in 2013.
Speaking when he launched this year’s bursary scheme, County Governor Cornell Rasanga said that this year alone, over 8,000 students will benefit from a Sh.62 million bursary kitty that has been disbursed to various institutions.
“Each of the beneficiaries will get between 5,000 and 20,000 shillings depending on the category of the school. 5,970 students in secondary schools will get a total of Sh.42,180,000 while 815 students in universities will get a total of Sh.8,150,000,” Rasanga disclosed.
The support also will also include some 793 students in tertiary institutions, and 351 trainees in vocational and technical colleges who will get Sh.7,060,000 and Sh.3,510,000 respectively. 138 special needs students will get a total of Sh.1,320,000.
The governor observed that the bursary support programme had helped increase retention and completion rate in schools by over 80 percent.
“We can proudly report that the retention capacity of students in our schools has steadied and our school completion rate in schools is standing at 80 percent, which is a positive development,” noted Rasanga.
