Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa has defended county governments on their decision to provide bursary funds to needy students. Speaking in Matungu, Governor Barasa said the introduction of county bursaries was as a result of increasing cases of students from needy families who were unable to raise school fees leading to absenteeism and cases of school dropout.
The governor was reacting to a letter, dated 14th January 2025, from the controller of Budget, Dr.
Margaret Nyakango, that clarified the functions of county governments in the provision of education support.
In the Letter, the controller of Budget described that, on education matters, county governments are assigned pre-primary education, village polytechnics, home craft centers and childcare facilities as stated in part 2 of the fourth schedule of the Kenyan constitution under section 9. "Specifically, 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," stated the letter addressed to County Executive Members for Finance.
