By Reporter
The issue of bursaries has always been thorny, and now Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka wants the Committee on Education to provide a breakdown of the total amounts budgeted, allocated, released and actually disbursed for bursaries in each of the three financial years.
Onyonka has sought a statement from the Standing Committee on Education on the management, allocation and distribution of bursary funds by the County Government of Kisii for the financial years 2023/2024, 2024/2025 and 2025/2026.
The statement is also expected to indicate the amounts spent on administration, identification, verification, sensitisation and other operational activities, compared with the funds directly disbursed to beneficiaries.
The Committee is further expected to provide details of the total number of bursary applications received, approved and rejected during each financial year, including the reasons for rejection.
It should also provide a register of beneficiaries disaggregated by ward, constituency, gender, level of education and institution, together with the exact amounts awarded.
Onyonka has also sought clarification on the criteria, guidelines and procedures used to identify, assess, verify and select beneficiaries, including mechanisms for determining applicants’ needs and the formula applied to ensure equitable distribution of bursary funds across all wards.
The Committee, chaired by Sen. Betty Muntet, is expected to establish whether there were any pending bursary awards at the end of each financial year, indicating the outstanding amounts, affected beneficiaries and reasons for the delays.
It should also outline measures in place to prevent double allocation of bursaries across different public education support programmes.
Further, the Committee is expected to state whether the Office of the Auditor-General raised any queries, observations or recommendations concerning the management and utilisation of Kisii County bursary funds during the period under review.
Sen. Onyonka has also sought information on any reported or investigated cases involving fraud, fictitious beneficiaries, forged documentation or financial misappropriation in the administration of the bursary programme.
Finally, the Committee should outline measures being undertaken by the County Government of Kisii to ensure bursary funds reach the intended beneficiaries in a timely and transparent manner, including monitoring systems and mechanisms for receiving and addressing public complaints.
