Thousands of students whose educational futures were jeopardised after the Controller of Budget (CoB), Margaret Nyakang'o, barred county governments from issuing bursaries can now breathe a sigh of relief following the government's efforts to resolve the stalemate.
This development came after a meeting between Governors, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, and the office of Nyakang'o during the 26th edition of the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC) meeting in Nairobi on Monday.
During the meeting, both sides agreed that counties with separate education funds could continue issuing bursaries to the thousands of students who depend on them.
Additionally, counties without such funds were directed to establish them to be allowed to issue bursaries or partner with the Ministry of Education to facilitate the process.
Speaking on the matter, DP Kindiki appeared to refute claims of some disorganization from the government on the stalemate that lasted for weeks, insisting that it was normal for differences of opinion to arise on such issues.
''We have some differences of opinion around the issue of education support. It is normal for us to have some differences of opinion on a particular matter,'' reiterated Kindiki.
To effectively iron out the issues, a formal engagement will be organised between the CoB, the Council of Governors, the Ministry of Education and the Treasury to develop a sustainable framework for bursary issuance.
The Council of Governors Chairperson, Wajir County Governor Ahmed Abdullahi, revealed that the decision to cancel the issuance had already negatively impacted students. He urged the consultation to implement measures to address the situation effectively.
''There are actually counties that have tried to disburse but have not been able because of that circular. So we hope that the agreement will also extend to addressing that,'' Abdullahi stated.
The Controller of Budget wrote a letter to the county governments on January 14, directing them to halt the issuance of bursaries to learners, claiming it was the responsibility of the national government to do the same.
She noted that students joining universities and other tertiary institutions should not be getting bursaries from the County Governments as that is a reserve of the National Government.
“Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule under Section 16 designates universities, tertiary educational institutions, primary schools, special education, secondary schools, and special education institutions as functions of the national government,” a section of the letter read.
According to the letter, however, the devolved units would have full reign in funding students in other levels of education including pre-primary and village polytechnics.
“Conversely, part 2 of the Fourth Schedule under Section 9 assigns pre-primary education, village polytechnics, homecraft centres and childcare facilities to county Governments,” the letter continued.
