President William Ruto on Thursday announced that learners in three banditry-prone counties will now only have to pay Sh5,000 in school fees, down from Sh30,000 a year, in a move to boost access to education.
The Head of State said the pilot programme will be rolled out in Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot and Baringo counties, which have recorded declined student enrolment rates following displacement caused by cattle raids and banditry.
"We do not want to see any student stay at home due to lack of fees. The insecurity and natural calamities like floods have subjected many parents to economic challenges and affirmative action will help boost student enrolment rate and education," said President Ruto.
He disclosed the scheme when he opened the new Liter Girls Secondary in Marakwet East sub-county. The school was destroyed by mudslides in 2020 that claimed 15 lives.
"We have built infrastructure and reduced school fees to encourage enrolment rate and promote education in regions that have experienced effects of insecurity and floods," added Dr Ruto.
The programme will be launched in 10 Secondary schools in Kerio Valley, among them Liter and Cheptulel secondary schools in Sigor, West Pokot County.
President Ruto further ordered for the reopening of 26 schools closed due to rampant insecurity in the Kerio Valley region noting that measures have been put in place to crack down on the criminals and find long-lasting peace solutions.
"Some 13 schools are under renovation while 10 others will be rebuilt next month to ensure that all closed schools due to insecurity are opened for use by learners," said Dr Ruto.
He disclosed plans to reintroduce school feeding programmes in the insecurity-hit counties in the region and directed Cabinet Secretaries Kipchumba Murkomen (Interior) and Beatrice Moe Askul (East African Community, ASALs, and Regional Development) to coordinate the exercise.
He noted that the region has enjoyed peace for the last two years and said the military and police deployed to crack down on criminals will pitch camp to facilitate long-lasting peace.
President Ruto described last year's Kenya Certificate of Secondary School Education (KCSE) examination results released on January 9 as better compared to previous years noting that the students performed well in science subjects.
He attributed the excellent results to the recruitment of more teachers and infrastructural development in most institution across the country.
He assured parents that classrooms and general infrastructure to accommodate Grade 9 learners were complete.
"More than 13,000 new classrooms have been constructed and 3,000 more will be ready before the end of the year for smooth transition to grade 9," said Dr Ruto.
He challenged parents to instill discipline in their children to enable them to be responsible citizens.
He also disclosed the release of Sh100 million to Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA) to increase processing capacity from 100 to 500 tons annually.
President Ruto, who commissioned Kerio Valley Technical Training Institute and Kerio Valley Kenya Medical Training Institute (KMTC), issued out 15,000 title deeds to help resolve land ownership disputes in the region.
He disclosed that the land adjudication process will be carried out to facilitate issuing out of more title deeds to the Kerio Valley region residents.
He said Sh600 million will be released to recruit 400 tutors to meet the shortage of staff in KMTC institutions in the country.
"The slashed funding has affected operations of most KMTCs but we shall ensure that they are allocated more funds in the next budget," said Dr Ruto.
He disclosed that his administration allocated Sh500 million for electricity connection in Elgeyo Marakwet County and an additional Sh600 million will be factored in the next financial year.
President Ruto urged more Kenyans to enroll to the Social Health Insurance Authority (SHA) noting that it will ensure provision of universal healthcare services.
"Children from the ECDE (early Childhood Development Education) level to university need to be registered to empower them also benefit from the scheme," said Dr Ruto.
The Head of State who is on a two-day tour of the region inspected development projects in Marakwet West and Trans Nzoia county.
