The Member of Parliament for Khwisero Constituency, Christopher Aseka, on Friday launched a subsidised lunch fee programme for day secondary schools where parents will be required to pay only Sh1000 per student every term.
The programme, according to the MP, will cost over Sh35 million, the amount that will be channelled to schools through the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NGCDF) kitty.
Speaking on Friday at Khwisero Stadium, Aseka said the programme is meant to keep students in school so that they can have enough time to study in order to improve their performance and that of schools.
“It is the responsibility of us as leaders and government that we assist these children so that they can learn,” he noted.
He said that apart from the lunch programme, over Sh66 million from NGCDF has been used to educate children from the Constituency through bursaries and scholarships.
“We have used over Sh3 million on scholarships to take our children to national schools. We also use almost Sh27 million at Mwihila, Emalindi, Eshibinga, and Khwisero secondary schools to enable our children to access education uninterrupted,” the MP disclosed.
He urged parents to assist leaders and teachers by instilling discipline in their children to ensure that school days are optimally utilised for learning and not in solving cases.
“We will never allow and entertain any form of indiscipline in our schools. To students: when in school, respect teachers, stakeholders, and parents. You should also respect your parents when you go back home,” he added.
The NGCDF Manager for Khwisero, Bernard Misiko, said that they have estimated that at least 7,195 students from the Constituency will benefit from the subsidised lunch fee programme, urging parents to pay the little Sh1000 per term to make it successful.
He also noted that 1,845 students from the Constituency are currently benefiting from the NGCDF full scholarship.
Misiko disclosed that they have managed to support over 52 students from the Constituency since 2018 to pursue secondary education in national schools across the country on NGCDF full scholarship.
Others on full NGCDF scholarships include 481 students who study at Mwihila High School, 454 at Emalindi Girls, 143 at Khwisero Girls, 149 at Eshibinga Secondary, and 566 others in various day schools in the constituency.
By Moses Wekesa