CS Ogamba challenges sponsors to provide more scholarships

Migori County Education Director Jacob Onyiego during celebrations of Mwangaza scholarship's six years of existence on December 21, 2024. [Anne Atieno, Standard]

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has called on more Kenyans to provide scholarships for bright but needy students to reduce school dropout in rural areas.

In a speech read by Migori County Education Director Jacob Onyiego, Mr Ogamba said most learners have benefited from state-run scholarships and urged private entities to step up.

“I emphasise the importance of the scholarships such as the Mwangaza programme,” Ogamba said during the sixth-year celebrations of the Mwangaza Scholarship Programme at Nyakweri in Nyatike Sub-County.

He noted that many bright but needy students would have dropped out of various levels of education were it not for the support of scholarships from the national government, counties, NG-CDF, foundations and other philanthropists.

According to the CS, it was clear that scholarships were contributing immensely to the government’s push to improve education at all levels.

The Mwangaza Scholarship Programme is a collaboration between Nyatike MP Tom Odege and the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF)

NG-CDF board chairman Olago Aluoch, who was present at the function, expressed his joy at the programme and said he was pleased by the initiative MPs took to ensure that CDF was entrenched in the Constitution.

“This programme is a sure way of success. As a board, we support education. We support bursaries everywhere in our country,” Mr Aluoch said.

NG-CDF spends Sh15 billion annually in bursaries for the whole country, with 1.2 million students benefiting.

This year, Nyatike Constituency received Sh179 million from the CDF board, the Mwangaza Scholarship Programme being one of the beneficiaries.

The board has spent Sh26 million on Dr Ida Odinga Nyakweri Girls school alone.

Migori Governor Ochilo Ayacko, Suna East MP Junet Mohammed, and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s Personal Assistant Dennis Onyango hailed the success of the programme saying it was prudent for other education stakeholders to join in and support needy and bright students.

Mr Ayacko stressed the importance of training those students who did not get good grades saying this would prevent them from being a burden to the society.

Odege said he would ensure the students he has sponsored complete their studies.