Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata addressing residents at Ihura stadium in Murang’a town
Murang’a county government will start paying schools for top-performing learners in day secondary schools starting in January next year.
Governor Irungu Kang’ata has announced that all top 10 students in every class in all-day secondary schools in the county will benefit from the programme.
Kang’ata who spoke while issuing Christmas donations to residents on Saturday said day school learners face challenges that make it harder for them to compete with their counterparts in boarding schools.
“Some students have to walk through several villages to access their schools early in the morning. Some, especially girls, face risks as they trek to school before dawn while their counterparts in boarding schools just wake up and rush to class,” he said.
He announced that the top performers will be receiving cheques that they will then be presenting to their schools’ management.
The programme is aimed at boosting academic performance in day schools by encouraging learners to study more and perform better.
Kang’ata said some students from poor backgrounds are forced to join local day schools despite their good performances due to financial constraints.
The governor noted that some day schools outperform boarding schools despite the challenges they face, adding that with more support they could perform even better.
He cited Karega Day Secondary School in Kigumo subcounty which had 100 candidates admitted to universities this year.
The school’s consistent performance has seen it rise to one of the top inter-county schools in the county, with its management sponsoring a teachers’ trip to Zanzibar earlier this year to celebrate the good performance.
“This programme will encourage competition amongst students and consequently raise their performance. By targeting day schools, it will benefit the most vulnerable students”.
The county has been supporting the top five KPCE candidates in all public primary schools with Sh15,000 while orphaned candidates receive Sh10,000 to facilitate their enrollment in secondary schools.
By Star