Kakamega Deputy Governor Ayub Savula now wants President William Ruto to consolidate all the myriad bursary funds created through different administrative and political channels into one consolidated fund for free basic education for all students in the country.
Savula’s utterance came amidst mounting concerns on education equity. He dismissed the New Higher Education Funding Model as a model that does not support financially disadvantaged students. As a matter of fact, he repeated that it is the mandate of the Ministry of Education to get rid of the current controversial model.
Fight for a Reform in Education
Speaking at a memorial service for Mama Susy Musanga Shiroko in Khwisero, Savula vowed there was an urgent need for reform, and consolidating all bursary funds into a pooled system to streamline the equitable sharing. He was accompanied by several leaders at the local level including Kisa North Ward MCA James Etabale, Kisa Central Ward MCA Handman Saya, Shirere Ward MCA David Ikunza and special-elect MCA Joel Okwako.
This unanimous voice of local leaders shows the growing quest to break the inequalities evident in the funding of education and to break the bureaucratic and political barriers standing in the way of an equitable distribution of bursaries to date.
Senator Khalwale Joins Call for Change
Kakamega Senator Dr. Boni Khalwale echoed this with equal intensity against the University Funding Model presented by Savula, imploring Higher Education Principal Secretary Dr. Beatrice Inyangala to bring far-reaching proposals before the President for the scrapping of a model he termed discriminatory.
He argued that the system fuels absolute financial desperation among students from poor backgrounds and maintained that a funding mechanism is needed as a divorce against political allocations of bursaries. He drummed the aspiration that free education ought to be provided right from primary school through to university to ensure equal access to quality education by all students irrespective of their economic background.
A Call for Inclusive and Harmonized Education
The common position taken by leaders in that regard is an indication of a growing dissatisfaction with the current model, which critics say has failed test of time and addressing the interests of vulnerable learners. This they hope will lead to a more responsive and inclusive way of managing education funding through a consolidated bursary system managed solely through the Ministry of Education.
It seems with the focus of the local leaders on education reform, it is reforms that provide opportunities for all students from every different walk of life.