Mumias East MP Peter Salasya has strongly criticised Raila Odinga Junior following his proposal to have bursaries scrapped, and instead the government should send it directly to the students’ account.

In a post shared on his X account on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, Salasya dismissed the idea, arguing that it disregards the struggles of many vulnerable families. He pointed out that bursaries are a lifeline for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, including orphans, and removing them would deny many learners access to education.

Salasya emphasised that there are families in Kenya who cannot even raise Ksh1,000 for school fees, stressing the importance of bursary funds in bridging this gap.

He also challenged Raila Junior to instead push his father, former prime minister Raila Odinga, to persuade the president and introduce free education beginning September 2025, noting that such a measure would eliminate the need for bursary allocations through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

The MP maintained that until free education is implemented, bursaries remain essential in supporting thousands of students across the country.

“He thinks like his father. Ambia babako aambie Ruto alete free education starting this September watoe support of bursaries that goes to children from vulnerable families and orphans. This one has families that even raising 1000 shillings for school fees is a problem. “Let them make an announcement this September for free education; we do away with CDF,” Salasya stated.

Junior’s argument

This comes after Raila Odinga Junior, who for the recent past has maintained a low profile, questioned the government’s approach to bursary allocations.

In a statement on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, Odinga wondered why money is given directly to parents instead of being sent to schools under the student’s name.

“One thing that’s never made sense to me is taking money from the government to give a parent a bursary to pay for a government school. Why not have the government send the money directly to the school under the student’s name?” he posed.