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Bright children who won’t join Grade 10 story hid bursaries rot
Top row: Elector Awino (left) Felix Kimani, Frida Kabibi and Stephen Ikahu. . Middle row: Stephanie Wanjeri, Sherly Akinyi, Quinton Mwangi and Praise Mawia. Bottom row: Patrick Muiruri, Pamela Odhiambo, Bennet Treezer and Bobby Otieno.
What you need to know:
- The stories only scratch the surface, as thousands of needy cases won’t be highlighted.
- The stories call for a national, corporate and individual conversation on the state of the country.
Why did the Daily Nation’s editor lead the coverage of Monday, January 12, with the story highlighting the plight of 17 children whose hopes of joining Grade 10 were dimmed by their families’ circumstances? More than to tell the children’s individual stories, this coverage was symptomatic of a bigger problem.
The children are a symbol of a system that is failing its most needy members. A system that is cannibalising itself. The stories only scratch the surface, as thousands of needy cases won’t be highlighted. No wonder the big story yesterday was that only 300,000 of the over 1.1 million learners had reported to their respective senior schools by Wednesday. Some 800,000 children are still at home for reasons including lack of fees and the quest to change institutions.
The Nation did a great public service by shedding light on this urgent matter. The first story, in fact, was a call to action, to mobilise support for these children. The only missing aspect of the coverage was an explainer on how readers could support these children. It is hoped that these specific cases received help from good-willed individuals and organisations.
An update on their plight would not only assuage the readers’ desire to know, but also ensure that any pending cases are supported. Some of the schools to which the children have been called have endowment funds run by their alumni, and a follow-up story could also include comments from these institutions.
Skewed distribution of bursaries
The stories call for a national, corporate and individual conversation on the state of the country. They highlight the problem, but they must also tell us why we have the problem and point to some solutions. The Nation has done only part one of the story.
The troubling questions are: Why are parents and children so helpless at a time when there are so many bursaries at various levels of government?
Some county governments issue bursaries. Members of Parliament allocate millions of shillings to bursaries every year. In some constituencies, even members of county assemblies have a semblance of bursaries. Where, then, is all the money meant to support children from needy families?
It could be a case of skewed distribution of bursaries that leaves out the most needy children, or a matter of outright theft where cash meant for bursaries is diverted to individuals’ pockets. The Nation must use its network of reporters and correspondents across the country to hold leaders accountable for the taxpayers’ money that is meant for bursaries.
Some of the MPs are doing a great job with their National Government Constituencies Development Fund allocations, ensuring that children in their areas get access to a decent education. Some administer their bursary funds transparently and equitably, including by pinning up a list of beneficiaries, their wards and villages, and the schools they attend. Unfortunately, many others are operated in an opaque manner, riddled with corruption and nepotism. The Nation should expose these leaders not just to their voters, but to the anti-corruption agencies.
Scholarships donated to Kenya
The Nation Media Group was among the first indigenous companies in Kenya to invest in the education of bright students. In 1985, while celebrating its 25th anniversary, the company sponsored the secondary school education of 25 children from 25 districts. Today, many corporations operate scholarship funds worth millions of shillings. Thankfully, these private initiatives are flourishing. They are mainly run on merit, where children benefit because of their effort, and not their family lineage. The bursaries are equitably distributed across the country too.
After lifting the veil on the administration of bursaries in the country, the next stop for the Nation should be the Ministry of Education, to shed a light on the allocation of hundreds of scholarships for undergraduate and graduate studies abroad. Since the 1970s, most of these scholarships have been given, not on merit, but through cronyism and nepotism.
It is an open secret that many senior government officials who send their children and relatives to top universities abroad never pay their fees; they “receive” scholarships donated to Kenya by other governments and foreign institutions for top-performing needy students. The Nation cannot undo the past, but it can demand accountability to influence the future. The ministry should publish the list of scholarship beneficiaries in the same way the government publishes lists of all those being recruited to senior positions.
The public looks forward to parts two and three of this education funding story.
Contact the Public Editor to raise ethical concerns or request a review of published material. Reach out: Email: [email protected]. Mobile number: 0741978786.
