Nyandarua County woman representative Faith Gitau has told off a section of leaders ,who were calling for the abolishment of the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) bursary kitty.
She made the remarks on Friday August 23, 2024 in Ol-Jororok Town, Nyandarua County during the distribution of NGAAF bursaries to needy students from Ol-Jororok Constituency.
The Nyandarua woman MP said that legislators pushing for the removal of the bursary kitty are ‘enemies of education’.
Her remarks emerged at the time when there is an ongoing debate on the new higher education funding model.
Meanwhile, MPs who were proposing the removal of NGAAF bursary kitty, suggested that the money be redirected to the Ministry of Education.
On the other hand, other MPs expressed concerns that by redirecting the bursary kitty to the Education Ministry may lead to many needy students who are beneficiaries of the kitty dropout of school.
Gitau stated that the kitty has been very useful to many vulnerable families in the villages, and is a game changer in regards to enabling equal access to education for all learners.
“There are few leaders who have been walking around calling for the abolishment of the NGAAF bursary kitty; I really cannot understand the reason behind it because some of them are where they are courtesy of the same bursary they are against,” said Gitau.
The legislator added that she has been assisting thousands of families with the bursary kitty and believes there is no reason to get rid of it.
“If it is abolished, where will I take such cases? I have a lot of orphans, students with disabilities, and families that live beyond the poverty line whom I am sponsoring through my office, and many are flocking in my office to get the funds,” she added.
Her sentiments were shared by Muhindi Kariuki, who advised those opposed to the kitty to reconsider its effects on low-income households whose children depend on bursaries for education.
“I know you have heard them, some of them are from our county, they want bursaries abolished but surprisingly, they haven’t been able to contact due diligence on who should be given and who shouldn’t, please reconsider,” Muhindi urged.
