By Norah Musega
Nyatike Member of Parliament Hon. Tom Odege has opened the Rongo University Macalder campus in Nyatike Constituency.
Speaking at the official opening of the university branch that was constructed by the Nyatike National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) over the weekend, the leaders present applauded the locals for electing a good leader who has the interest of their children’s education at heart.
Nyatike Member of Parliament also pledged to give bursaries to teachers from within the constituency who will undertake the Teacher Professional Development (TPD) training as a way of easing the burden of training cost.
Hon. Tom Odege said due to the effects of Covid-19 pandemic to the economy, teachers need assistance to shoulder the cost of training as has been directed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
“I will not stop at only sponsoring students through the NG-CDF education kitty but will also extend it to support the teachers working within our constituency on the in-service training that had been ordered by the TSC to ease the burden of paying for the course,” said Odege.
The Vice Chancellor Rongo University, Prof. Samuel Gudu hailed the area MP for prioritizing education and urged other leaders to emulate the legislators’ initiative.
He thanked Nyatike Community Development Initiative (NYACODI) for persuading residents to donate land for the construction of the higher learning institution that he said will enable residents to venture into income generation activities and improve living standards of locals.
Prof. Gudu challenged politicians to avoid politicking education programs and initiatives and encourage parents to invest heavily on quality learning process to enable schools improve on performance in national examinations.
The Vice Chancellor said the institution will consult other development partners to contribute towards ensuring provision of adequate physical facilities for smooth operation of the higher learning institution expected to attract learners from far areas beyond the Countys’ border.
Rongo University was granted charter by President Uhuru Kenyatta in October 2016 and this has created an ever increasing demand for learners pursuing research courses.
“We have got qualified teaching personnel at the institution who will also offer quality education to the learners at the Nyatike campus to help in ensuring the learners are able to achieve their dreams in different fields as our major concern is to give the best to our students and produce the best to the working community,” said Gudu.
According to the NYACODI chairman Erick Miluo the initiative that resulted to construction of the Macalder college campus was to ensure learners from the community whose parents were not able to raise fees required by well-established learning institutions in far flung areas were to seek admission at the Nyatike campus.
