Thousands of children in Sigor Constituency, Pokot Central Sub County in West Pokot County are missing out on education due to lack of school fees. Sixty percent of children in the region are out of school because their parents are unable to pay fees for them.
The insecurity prone, semi-arid area is faced with a lot of challenges including high poverty levels, and drought which has led to hunger and drying up of rivers.
Sigor Member of Parliament Peter Lochakapong has stepped up to the challenge to help learners using CDF funds by offering bursaries to orphans and school dropouts, “Residents in this place are not used to paying fees and many remain at home for lack of the same,” he said “We want to help children to stay in school.”
Speaking at the availing of bursaries worth Kshs 34 million at Lomut trading center, the MP said that over 7,00O learners who are less privileged and those affected by the insecurity will benefit from the funds.
He noted that learning in the Constituency which borders Turkana County was affected by cattle rustling and insecurity. “In the past, we have been conflicting with our neighbours and with the current peace we have experienced we want to invest in education to help eradicate the outdated cultural practices,” he said.
He urged the government to increase the allocation to CDF since the current allocation is not enough to meet the demands of the people. He also noted that the residents in the area are faced with hunger and asked the national government to supply relief food in schools.
A resident, Samuel Kaptama, who lauded the MP for transparency in disbursement of the funds, said the funds will help save girls from early forced marriages since they will be in school continuously. “Cases of school dropouts are going to drop drastically since we’ve received help to pay fees,” he said, “We need security beefed up at Chesegon and Kamulogon areas.”
He also thanked the bursary committee for allocating the funds equally to all children without discrimination. Another resident, Selina Chepkirkir, said many children had remained at home due to lack of school fees.
