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{
    "id": 1563809,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1563809/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 217,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Oketch Gicheru",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Kshs5,000. Most of the governor's scholarship only give Kshs5,000 to Kshs10,000. The only one that is different is that of Mandera County where they have what they call education financing for all the children. The students then have to go to the MP to get Kshs5,000, then go to the governor to get Kshs5,000, which is then supposed to fund their education which is in the tune of Kshs60,000 plus. If this was defrayed from governors and from MPs, the government would finance the entire Kshs60,000 or Kshs40,000. The essence of a bursary fund in financing education is not feasible because it is not giving the young people enough money to go to school. The Kshs5,000 that they give cannot finance people's schooling not even those who are in a day school. Secondly, there is political interference by those who are offering them; governors and MPs. Bursary by its nature has become a political funding mechanism. It is funded to people who have voted for particular politicians. It is not needs-based and it is not merit- based. This means that most needy people in our communities or the most merited for this kind of financing do not get to be financed. My third point is the issue of corruption in bursaries. I do not want to point out particular areas, but we can give data in a number of constituencies if this Motion gets concurrence of the National Assembly. You will find a Member of Parliament who wants to vie for governorship and has a bursary kitty choosing to allocate bursary to students who are not from his or her own constituency. They do that for political financing, then use that when campaigning in constituencies that are not their own. We also have situations where those Members of Parliament collude with teachers from other places and pay bursary for ghost students then get kickbacks from those monies. This is a leakage area that ensures that the money does not get to the right students. Another issue is untimely disbursements of these bursaries. If you consolidate these bursaries into one national kitty that is supposed to finance education system, all schools will receive those monies directly when capitation is done and that is why I like this Motion. The problem with the current structure of bursaries is that it is dependent on the mood, routine, schedule and the likeliness of the MP to give that bursary to the extent that you will find that a student who has been given a bursary today---"
}