The government of United States has announced that it will commit a sum of KSh400 million to support 60 Kenyan students to study US.
This is as a result of the collaboration signed between the two countries which aim to support new partnerships between universities and industry to drive innovation, research, and job growth in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) related fields in Kenya and worldwide.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Counselor Clinton White while speaking during the signing of the Economic Development Framework for Cooperation agreement between the two countries alongside Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi at the Spelman College in Atalanta, US as part of President William Ruto’s State to the country on Tuesday revealed that the agency has committed nearly $32 million investment in Kenya’s education system.
“This investment includes $850,000 in support of the Edtech Africa initiative, a public-private partnership programme recommended by the President’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement (PAC-ADE) to promote STEM partnerships between Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), the Open University of Kenya, Mastercard and Microsoft, and a $6.5 million new project in Kenya which aims to connect STEM graduates with jobs in fast-growing sectors like information and communication technology and manufacturing of textiles and pharmaceuticals. It also includes a new $24.5 million programme on early grade literacy, to ensure that more Kenyans are prepared with the foundational skills they need to succeed in higher education,” White said.
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White further said the agency wishes that the agreement between the two countries would establish linkages, partnerships, exchange programmes, and other relationships for sharing and developing the STEM, advanced manufacturing, and ICT capacities of Kenyan higher education institutions.
“The US has a longstanding partnership with Kenya, actively supporting the country as a pioneering force and regional engine for innovation. This new partnership in the area of STEM education will prepare a generation of innovative Kenyan leaders to meet evolving market demands and advance the nation’s economic development,” he added.
President expressed confidence that the program would contribute to global security as well adding that the agreement was like the Mboya and Kennedy airlift Programme which offers scholarship.
The Mboya and Kennedy Airlift programme was initiated in 1959 by Tom Mboya. Its purpose was to provide education to promising Kenyan students by enabling them to study at American Universities and Colleges. The first 81 students landed in New York City on September 11, 1959. The airlifts ended officially in 1963. Some beneficiaries of the programme include Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Late Prof Wangari Maathai and Leah Marangu, the first woman full professor in Kenya and East Africa.
By Vostine Ratemo and Frank Mugwe
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