Kajiado County Executive Committee Member (CECM) in charge of Education, Jeremiah ole Ncharo is warning parents who are planning to marry off their teenage daughters during the long holidays that legal action will be taken against them by the government.
Speaking to the media in his office, Ole Ncharo noted that the government is aware that poverty levels in the county have risen due to the ongoing drought but this should not be the reason for parents to marry off their teenage girls due to lack of school fees once schools reopen.
“I want to warn the parents that the government is keen to ensure that no teenager or underage girl is married off during the school holidays and we will ensure that all children report back to school once they reopen,” said Ole Ncharo
The CECM revealed that the County Government will allocate Sh50million worth of bursaries to needy students within the whole county so there is no need for parents to marry off their daughters due to lack of school fees.
“Most parents in Kajiado depend on livestock as their source of income and the ravaging drought has killed most of the animals thus many students will be in need of bursaries come January,” he said.
“I therefore appeal to our partners and all stakeholders in Kajiado to come up and supplement what the county is providing in terms of bursaries to the students so as to keep them in school,” added Ole Ncharo.
Ole Ncharo further urged parents to take good care of their children during the school holidays and ensure they are aware of their whereabouts and their activities to protect them from vices such as substance abuse.
Source: Kenya News Agency