BY MANUEL ODENY

The Controller of Budget recent move to control how counties are issuing bursaries should be an eye opener for Kenya on value of free education, Migori senator aspirant Billy Mijungu has said.

Mijungu said the move by CoB was positive because counties should work on supporting early childhood education and village polytechnics which is under their mandate and not high school and colleges which fall under the national government.

“The move by CoB is positive and i support it, counties should concentrate on devolved education functions they were given,” Mijungu said.

Speaking to the press over the phone, Mijungu said governors want to get political mileage and the move does not move well with education standards.

“Most often governors just like other elected leaders have made it look like they are the ones offering these bursaries and not government,” he said.

Mijungu said all government bursaries should be consolidated and given to public schools for free education to all Kenyans at their point of need.

“Kenyans seeking public education should get it for free at the point of need, all these bursaries can be stopped and ploughed back to schools and education,” he added.

County governments had a stand off with the Controller of Budget to ban devolved units from administering bursary funds for post-nursery students.

Council of Governors challenged the Controller of Budget’s Margret Nyakang’o.

In a letter dated January 14, the CoB said the county governments have no legal basis to finance students in post-primary institutions, saying that the mandate is under the national government.

She said the only way county governments can run bursaries for post-primary education would be if the functions are transferred from the national government.

“Consequently, for any county government to offer educational support towards functions classified under Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule, there is a need to transfer the function in accordance with Article 187 of the Constitution,” Nyakango said in her letter.

The Fourth Schedule of the Constitution stipulates functions meant for county governments and the national government. 

Nyakango said that Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule, designates universities, tertiary education institutions, primary schools, special education, secondary schools and special needs education institutions under the national government.

“Consequently party 2 of the Fourth Schedules under section 9 assigns pre-primary education, village polytechnics, home craft centres and childcare facilities to County governments,” Nyakango said.