Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka has demanded a full audit of the Kisii County bursary programme amid concerns over transparency and equity in the allocation of funds meant for needy students.
Through a statement sought from the Senate Standing Committee on Education, Senator Onyonka is pushing the County Government of Kisii to account for all bursary funds for the 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years.
The Senator wants the committee, chaired by Bomet Senator Betty Muntet, to provide a detailed year-by-year breakdown of the amounts budgeted, released, and actually disbursed to beneficiaries.
Focus on Administration Costs and Beneficiary List
Onyonka is also seeking clarity on how much of the bursary kitty was spent on administrative costs, including identification and verification of applicants, public sensitisation and other operational activities, versus the amount that directly reached students.
The inquiry will further establish the number of bursary applications received, approved and rejected in each financial year, with clear reasons provided for rejected cases.
He has demanded a comprehensive register of all beneficiaries, showing their ward, constituency, gender, education level, institution attended, and the amount awarded to each.
Equity, Double Allocation and Audit Queries
The lawmaker has questioned the criteria used to identify needy students, asking the committee to explain how financial need is assessed and how the county ensures equitable distribution across all wards.
The committee is also expected to confirm whether there were pending or unpaid bursary awards at the end of each financial year and to identify affected students.
Additionally, Onyonka wants the county to outline measures in place to prevent double allocation of bursaries where students benefit from multiple government education support programmes.
The Senator has further asked the committee to table any queries, observations or recommendations raised by the Auditor-General on the management and utilisation of the bursary funds during the period under review.
The probe will also extend to allegations of fraud, including fictitious beneficiaries, forged documents and possible misappropriation of funds, where such cases were reported or investigated.
Onyonka is now asking the committee to recommend reforms to strengthen transparency, monitoring and timely disbursement of bursaries, including clear mechanisms for students and parents to lodge and track complaints on the programme.
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