Ruiru MP Simon King’ara is urging NG-CDF board to increase the bursary ceiling to Sh90 million to accommodate all applicants, with a view to reaching out to some 40,000 needy students in Ruiru, Kiambu County, and enable them pursue their education undeterred by the current harsh economic climate.
Initial allocation to bursaries stood at Sh80 million, but has since proved insufficient after the overwhelming number of deserving cases. Ruiru, being the most populous constituency with a population of more than 700,000 residents, faces a challenge since many parents are unable to raise school fees.
King’ara explained the dire situation while supervising the application of bursaries in Githurai. “We are usually overwhelmed with so many applicants, which forces us to write to NG-CDF board to allow us to spend extra money on bursaries. So far, we have received 40,000 applications, and the number might rise,” he said.
The high number of applicants from the eight wards of Mwihoko, Mwiki, Kiuu, Gitothua, Biashara, Gatung’ora, Kahawa Sukari, and Kahawa Wendani puts the MP in a tight position in giving out bursaries. He confessed that the prevailing conditions of strained economy, unemployment, and high cost of living made it nearly impossible for many parents in this peri-urban constituency to support their children’s education.
According to King’ara, this NG-CDF has been instrumental in enhancing access to education and ensuring a 100% transition rate. “The majority of our people live from hand to mouth and can hardly facilitate their children’s education. Our allocation is too little to effectively help all, and we are glad the government considers increasing it, owing to the high population in Ruiru,” he said.
This has largely been referred to as a funding gap, where bursaries often end up gobbling the funds meant for other educational developments, prompting the MP’s office to partner with corporates. In return, such partnerships have seen the construction of over 50 classrooms in primary and secondary schools in that particular constituency.
Parents whose children have benefited from the bursaries are now calling for the funding to be increased so that more students, who are many in number, can be facilitated in continuing their studies. Resident Anne Waithera pointed to economic struggles: “There are no stable jobs; the current business environment is hard-hitting. We are able to raise money to buy food and shelter. We usually rely on the bursaries for the continuity of our children’s education.”
Inequalities in the sharing of national resources, especially in highly-populated areas, were further urged by residents for the government to address. Eliud Njeru, another resident, pointed at the same disparity and said, “It’s high time the government addressed these concerns because there is no way a constituency with a population of 15,000 people can be given the same allocation as Ruiru.”
They recommended either a cut in the constituency or an increase in the NG-CDF so that the distribution may be appropriate. This would better accommodate the large and growing population of Ruiru, hence giving a fair share to the education and other facilities.