Gov Ottichilo promises top performers overseas education

At least 76 Form Four students from Vihiga County will get scholarships to study overseas starting next year if they score good grades in the forthcoming KCSE examination.

They are among 413 students now benefiting from a scholarship kitty started in 2018 by Governor Wilber Ottichilo to support needy but bright students in secondary schools.

The 76 will come from the pioneer class that received funding when the programme began four years ago.

Speaking when he met hundreds of beneficiaries at the County headquarters, Governor Ottichilo said his administration is in talks with donors who are willing to partner with the devolved unit to help young people further their education.

The multimillion-shilling kitty was started to help needy but bright students who scored 370 marks and above in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam proceed to secondary school.

But with the first cohort finishing their secondary education later this year, Dr Ottichilo said there is a need to create future professionals through further sponsorship.

Dr Ottichilo said his administration would help the best performers study in Australia, the United Kingdom and other countries.

The plan comes as the county’s Education department revealed that 67 per cent of the 76 students have the potential to score the minimum university entry grade of C+ (plus).

The promise of international scholarships is meant to motivate students to work harder, with Dr Ottichilo saying they still had time to improve before the national examination start.

Dr Ottichilo said his administration wants to create more professionals to serve in the region and beyond.

International

The offer of international scholarships was made when the beneficiaries of the ambitious kitty returned to their schools for the final term of the 2022 academic year.

"We started this kitty as a pilot programme, but we can see many children are benefiting. Our pioneer class still has room and time to improve on their grades," said Dr Ottichilo.

Some 113 beneficiaries are in Form One, 112 in Form Two, 112 in Form Three and 76 in Form Four.

Results from this year’s second-term examinations showed that six Form Fours scored B+ (plus), five had B (plain) and 12 B- (minus).

Another 26 scored C+ (plus) to close the group of those with the potential to attain the grades for direct university entry.

Dr Ottichilo urged the students to work harder and win the planned scholarships.

“After Form Four, those who will do well will get support," said Dr Ottichilo.

He went on: "We are searching for partners who will give scholarships to the best performers so that they can go and study abroad.

"This will offer them a platform to get enough experience of the world."

Education Chief Officer Pamela Mahila pledged that her department will work to secure the scholarships.

She also said there are plans to register all the beneficiaries biometrically to avoid pilferage from the funding.

This, she said, will be done by taking the students' photographs and fingerprints.

"This will help us identify those on the beneficiary list," she said and added that the department is mapping areas where the beneficiaries come from using a geo-information system (GIS).
Vihiga has installed a GIS lab at the county headquarters.

Ms Mahila said mapping the homes of the beneficiaries will enable "us to trace their homes and know where they come from".
[email protected]