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Hundreds of thousands of needy students in the country risk missing out on their studies as the stand-off between the national and county governments over educational support, popularly known as bursaries, enters the second week.

For the second time, yesterday, the governors rubbished a directive by the Controller of Budget (CoB), Margaret Nyakang’o which saw the rights of the county chiefs to provide bursaries withdrawn.

The governors held a consultative forum at the Council of Governors (CoG) headquarters yesterday bringing together the Education and Legal Committees to deliberate on the directive. The governors called on the CoB to shelve the directive and give dialogue a chance.

“As the debate over education funding continues, all eyes remain on the CoB and the national government to determine whether county bursary programmes will persist or face further challenges,” said CoG Education Committee chair, Dr Eric Mutai, who is also the Governor of Kericho.

Mutai said that at the time the directive was being announced, a number of counties had prepared their budget cycles and had them approved by their respective Assemblies.

Complementary partners

The governor wondered why, as this happened, the same CoB had also approved those budgets and the subsequent vetting of students.

“This, therefore casts the future of thousands of children into a limbo that have been benefiting from the county bursaries,” he added.

Nairobi’s Johnson Sakaja defended counties commitment to providing bursaries for needy students, warning that a directive by the Controller of Budget (CoB) risks derailing education access for thousands of learners.

Speaking during a press briefing, Sakaja clarified that counties are not in competition with the national government but serve as complementary partners in improving the lives of Kenyans.

Overlapping roles

“In Nairobi alone, over 124,000 students are in school today because bursaries cover their fees. These children come from less-privileged families,” Sakaja explained.

The governor emphasised that the mandates of the national and county governments are distinct but interconnected, as both serve the same citizens.

“There is no government function explicitly called ‘school fees.’ The Ministry of Education handles matters like paying teachers and setting the curriculum. However, supporting the welfare of learners is a shared responsibility that requires collaboration between all levels of government,” he said.

Even as this is happening, simmering tensions are gradually building up in many counties after the sudden withdrawal of the right to issue bursaries to needy students by county governments as a result of a recent directive by Nyakang’o.

Yesterday the governors said that this is unacceptable as learners could be forced to drop out of school because of the inability to get fees.