The Mountain Journal
Murang’a County Government has ordered for investigations on the Nyota Zetu Programme following fears the list has been doctored.
The programme is under probe by the county assembly after an audit in January revealed there are 2,750 students under the support of the programme reflecting an excess of 1,210 beneficiaries.
On Monday, there were students in uniform backed by their parents who pitched camp at the county education office as there was a crisis meeting to help iron out the difference.
The notice from the county government reads in part that, “ the county has received information suggesting that some extra students were dropped from the programme.
The matter is under investigation by the education committee at the county assembly to determine how the list expanded beyond the original intended number of 1,540.
The investigations were ordered after the MCAs raised concerns that many of the deserving and needy students from their wards had been mysteriously dropped from the scholarship list.
The MCAs raised the concerns after the needy students had their names exchanged with those sneaked in forcing them being sent away to collect their fees balances.
The county government in a notice indicated that in January during verification of the beneficiaries 1,960 students were registered, before another 300 turned up at the county headquarters.
An MCA aware of the complaints divulged the majority of the needy students had been eliminated from the list prompting public anger in the wards.
The leader says the assembly will integrate the list per ward to ensure there is fairness in the distribution of students in the programme supporting those in form three and four.
Assembly Majority Leader Francis Kibe said the matter will be deliberated as they have invited Education and Technical Training CEC Ms Faith Njoroge to shed light on the performance of the Nyota Zetu programme.
Mr Kibe, Ithiru MCA said the CEC is scheduled to be interrogated by the education committee based on the concerns based on complaints from the parents.
“Next week, after the assembly resumes from the recess, the first business will be to invite the Education CEC to provide information on the actual number of beneficiaries under the scholarship programme,” said Kibe.
