Kibingei ward bursary funds released at last
After a long wait finally more than one twenty students in both high school and higher institutions of learning from Kibingei ward in Kimilili constituency received bursary fund money of one million shillings to help them cater for part of their school fees in the various institutions.
Speaking after awarding the bursary cheques to the deserving students Kibingei ward member of the County assembly Justus Kibaba said it was light at the end of the tunnel after the cheques were finally issued saying the parents were getting impatient as the cheques were supposed to have been issued last year.
Earlier on there were Ward bursary fund row that ensued in Kibingei ward over the bursary allocation.
A stakeholders meeting that included Bungoma County education department, Kibingei ward bursary committee and Kibingei ward residents finally led to a solution of awarding the ward bursary to deserving students in the ward.
He disclosed that the beneficiaries were arrived at after the vetting panel that included the chief County officers in charge of the bursary approved the list of the deserving students saying their school fees was still piling in their schools due to their parents and guardians inability to cater for their school fees arrears.
He however disclosed that not all who applied were considered and urged the rest to be patient as they will benefit in the next disbursement which is set to be released by the County government in April of this year.
“There are special cases where some parents have accumulative fees arrears of more than fifty thousand shillings each therefore for their cases we will have to pay the arrears from the ward fund after squeezing some cash from other projects” he said
Some of the beneficiaries including Dorcas Kuyi a parent thanked the initiative made by the stakeholders for the fund to be finally released saying they were in a dilemma as the school fee for their children were piling in schools.
However Hon Kibaba faulted the County government for not releasing the funds this financial year despite having been budgeted for an issue that has paralyzed normal working services at the Bungoma County assembly as MCA’s have decided to abscond attending sessions.
He said it is unfortunate that residents of his ward and Bungoma County at large were anxiously waiting for the ward fund to be distributed in all the wards saying they have already proposed projects to be funded yet the money has not been released.
