Education, they say is key to the good life. Getting good education remains the dream of every Kenyan yearning to turn around their opportunities in life.
So, what happens when one misses the chance to get an education?
Definitely desperation and a bleak future of their lives is the scenario.
However, there is a ray of hope for some students in Magarini, Kilifi County after they received scholarships to continue with their education unperturbed.
The 300 bright needy students from poverty-stricken families can now sigh with relief after Magarini National Government Constituency Development funds offered them full scholarship for one year at a cost of Sh5.7 million.
The program is an initiative of Magarini MP Michael Kingi who said the program is aimed at ensuring bright needy students who score 350 marks and above go to form one and encourage those behind to work harder.
Magarini NG-CDF chairman Samson Kombe said this year students performed well in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) than the previous years adding that together with the 300 given scholarships by NG-CDF the total beneficiaries of scholarships are 1,000.
Speaking during the official handing over of cheques to the beneficiaries at the NG-CDF offices in Gongoni, Mr Kombe said in previous years they used to issue between Sh3 and Sh4 million but due to the increased performance, the amount has rose to Sh5.7 million.
“The event was presided over by area MCA Albert Kiraga who was representing the MP.
“The funds will help the parents because the current economic situation together with the Covid-19 pandemic have made many parents to have challenges in paying fees for their children, but many are happy today because fees will be paid for one year,” he said.
The chairman said they have been forced to fundraise for others who cannot afford even to buy school uniforms, books and fare to travel to school.
He said others got support from Equity bank, Cooperative bank, Salt firms among other institutions that are supporting to improve the education of the area
He warned students who were changing beneficiary lists of the cheques issued to suit them alone instead of all those who have been listed in the cheques.
Mr. Kombe said they have also embarked on a program to build girls dormitories in four schools which are almost complete to keep girls in school and prevent them from becoming victims of teenage pregnancy.
Before taking office, Mr. Kombe said the constituency had only one dormitory but in the next one month there will be five which will be complete with some which shall be handed over this August.
“We have begun a process of improving the infrastructure in our schools, many had insufficient buildings and did not have laboratories and even dorms.
The MCA said currently there were proper strategies to improve the education standards in Magarini through the scholarships, building labs, and dormitories.
To date he said most students perform poorly in science subjects and end up doing art courses after completing high school.
“Imagine one could be in form three and not even aware what a microscope is, we would see it for the first time in other schools and it was difficult for one to perform better,” he said.
The MCA said with the establishment of twin labs in secondary schools soon Magarini will begin performing well in science subjects.
“The dorms being built by Magarini NG-CDF will really help our students especially the girls because they undergo many challenges. It will be easy for them to concentrate on learning when they sleep in a school other than outside. We expect the rate of teen pregnancies to also go down,” he said.
One of the beneficiaries Mr Fredrick Nguwa said the initiative was nice and if it goes on well, then it will help more students.
In as far as many students would want to get an education, schools fees and other financial constraints due to poverty push them out of their dreams.
“If CDF will continue sponsoring students it will be of help to use parents who cannot afford the costs of education,” he said.
*This article was written by Ramadhan Kambi for Uzalendo News. Email: uzalendonews@gmail.com for News tips and Inquiries.
