Deputy Speaker of Isiolo County Assembly David Lemantile and the leader of Majority Abdirashid Diba have both decried the poor learning environment for Junior Secondary Schools in the county.
The leaders said that the local schools do not have laboratories, libraries and have inadequate classrooms while 85 per cent of the schools lack JSS teachers.
Mr. Lemantile said that schools had been hit by shortage of teachers following suspension of delocalization of the teaching staff where most of them went back to their home counties.
The Deputy speaker who made the remarks at the launching of Sh. 1.26 million of National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) bursary, said the County Government would also increase its bursary allocation from sh. 35 million to sh. 50 million in 2023-24 financial year.
During the event, 250 students benefitted from NGAAF where the needy secondary students were going to get Sh. 5,000 while those in universities would pocket Sh. 10,000 each.
He praised the NGAAF bursary disbursement plan which he said represented the face of Isiolo where a chairman of the committee charged with the payout is drawn from the minority groups and has ensured there was fair distribution of the cash.
The Leader of Majority in the County Assembly Mr. Abdirashid Diba said that the Women Rep. Ms. Mumina Bonaya has picked five committee members from every Ward and ensured that only the disadvantaged students benefited.
Mr. Diba challenged youths to register with Technical and Vocational Education Training Institutions (TVET) to get skills to enable them take up alternative employment opportunities since the white colour jobs are minimal.
Wabera Ward MCA Mr. Salesio Kiambi called for investigation of the chiefs and their assistants who are alleged to have been stealing relief food meant for the poor and urged the local administration to take swift action.
Source: Kenya News Agency