18/10/2024
Rethinking Education & Youth Service Funding: A Path to Equity and Integrity
Bursaries, once intended to support deserving students, have become a source of corruption and favoritism. It's time to rethink this system and move toward an inclusive, transparent, and sustainable approach to education funding.
I believe bursaries should be scrapped to end the cycle of favoritism. Instead, we must adopt a system that ensures free, fully funded education for all Kenyan citizens, legal immigrants, and asylum seekers. Every child deserves the opportunity to excel academically, regardless of their background or connections.
Here’s how we can achieve this:
1. Transparent, Community-Driven Selection: Bursary allocation often favors those with connections. By involving Nyumba Kumi and village elders, alongside the government, we can ensure that the truly needy orphans, children from dysfunctional homes, or those with disabilities are identified transparently.
2. Full Support for Deserving Students: Let’s provide students with everything they need; education, books, uniforms, sanitary supplies, and more holistically, allowing them to focus on their studies and change their narrative.
3. Consolidated, Politically Neutral Funds: No elected member should handle education funds alone. Funds should be managed centrally, ensuring every child receives the same level of opportunity, free from corruption.
4. Healthcare for Every Learner: Education and health go hand in hand. Every learner should be enrolled in SHA (formerly NHIF) to access quality healthcare, relieving parents from worrying about their child’s health while in school.
NYS and Youth Empowerment
As a beneficiary of the National Youth Service (NYS), I believe the NYS funding model works. However, the recruitment process must be reformed to eliminate corruption, nepotism, and favoritism.
If we retain military-style recruitment, every youth who completes the service should be guaranteed an option to join Kenya’s disciplined forces. Alternatively, a non-military recruitment process should be transparent and based on merit, family circumstances, and academic performance.
In my next post, I’ll explore how we can transform NYS to better empower our youth and drive real change.
Kenya can create its own path, one that ensures quality education, healthcare, and youth empowerment for all.
