A special education fund has been launched in Machakos County to support vulnerable girls who dropped out of school due to teenage pregnancy and other social challenges. The fund, launched by Machakos Women Representative Kamene Kasimbi, has issued cheques to 60 girls willing to return to school. The financing will cover their school fees. The fund has been recruiting and receiving applications from girls since last year, encouraging them to return to education. The target is 200 girls, with beneficiaries vetted in their villages to ensure they are genuine about their reasons for dropping out. Kasimbi also encourages girls to speak up against molestation and sexual abuse earlier to help reduce teenage pregnancies. She urges local leaders, the church, and the community to give morale to the girls returning to school and encourage them to work hard. One girl, Jacinta Nzioki, dropped out of school when she was in form four after becoming pregnant and couldn’t continue due to financial constraints. She now wants to clear secondary education and join college to become a nurse, which she believes will make her family and community proud.
Kiambu County schools are reopening to comply with the Education Ministry’s directive, with bus terminus, bookshops, and school uniform shops bustling with activities. Kiambu Township Secondary School Principal, Mrs. Phyllis Kamau, reported a 99 percent attendance rate and plans to enrol around 250 students for Form One this term. The school also recorded a positive deviation of 0.149 in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results, with a mean grade of 3.8, up from 3.6, taking 12 students to university compared to last year’s three students. The last-minute rush in Kiambu town was due to economic challenges, with high living costs and rising stationery and uniform prices making it difficult for parents to provide their children with necessary items. The Ministry of Education assured schools that the exchequer has released school capitations, despite concerns that the delay could affect learning in public institutions.
Imenti North Legislator Rahim Dawood has praised the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation for providing full scholarships to some of the neediest students in the constituency. He emphasised the potential of the move to enhance education in remote and needy areas, ultimately improving their economic status. The scholarships cover fees, uniforms, upkeep, and transport expenses for students to and from their schools, which is not compared to bursaries usually issued by the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NGCDF). The scholarship will go a long way in ensuring that beneficiaries acquire education and meet their future life aspirations.
Rahim called on other goodwill individuals or organisations to sponsor a few other students to boost literacy levels. He called on the Ministry of Finance to release NG-CDF funds as soon as possible to issue bursaries to learners who have always depended on the foundation for their education. The Foundation received 284 applications, most of which needed support, but there is a need for more interventions to ensure access to education for needy learners.
A 29-year-old suspect who has been personating the former Governor of Nairobi Mike Mbuvi Sonko and obtained thousands of shillings from unsuspecting members of the public in an educational loan advance bluff has been arrested by detectives.
Newton Paul Kengere was arrested in Kisii’s Riokindo Ward within Kenyenya sub-county, where the handset he has been using to send enticing messages to vulnerable targets and several simcards were also recovered.
Lodging his complaint at Capital Hill Police Station, Sonko reported several Facebook accounts that were being operated by the suspect, who purported to be working with the Sonko Rescue Team and coordinating an initiative to help needy parents with school fees challenges.
Kengere went ahead to author messages that required interested persons to register with Sh1,000 for the advance loans which he said, would not accumulate any interests. To secure a loan, “applicants” had to also send their ID numbers, full names, location and state the purpose.
However, after receiving the registration fees, Kengere would shift briskly from a persistent caller to the aphoristic, “Patience pays”. That statement was all his targets would make of their Sh1,000.
DCI Nairobi Area Crime Research and Intelligence Unit team which traced him to his village is processing him before his arraignment.
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