By Kage Njoroge
Murang’a governor Mwangi wa Iria has issued out scholarships to bright but needy students in the area, a move that seeks to ensure that needy children from the area continue with their education.
Speaking while awarding this year’s scholarships, Mwangi said that the scholarship fund, dubbed Nyota Zetu Scholarship Fund, had benefitted 3,200 students since its inception three years ago.
He added that the scholarship fund caters for the full secondary education of the beneficiaries.
Mwangi said that the fund was established after the realization that some well performing students failed to join prestigious national and extra county schools due to financial constraints.
‘When these learners fail to join such schools, they get disappointment and lose hope of having a bright future,’ he said.
He added that some of these children join small day schools or eventually drop out of school.
He disclosed that the beneficiaries are selected after a rigorous vetting process and that the county assembly had enacted appropriate legal framework to manage the scholarship fund from abuse and disruption from incoming regimes.
‘Education is a powerful resource which can eliminate poverty in people’s household. Proper and quality education is an enabling equalizer for every child to access opportunities available in the country,’ he added.
He further disclosed that Early Childhood and Development Education (ECDE) teachers in the county hired on contract will be offered permanent and pensionable employment by the county government.
He directed the county’s Public Service Board (PSB) to speed up the absorption of these teachers under permanent employment during this financial year.
‘These teachers play a crucial role in delivering quality learning and teaching at the basic level in the entire education process.’ He said
Peter Marubu, a beneficiary of the scholarship, revealed that the fund helped him and other needy students who would have been denied their right to education by the escalating poverty levels in their families.
