In a daring and urgent measure directed at hunger, absenteeism, and poor academic performance, Governor Ndindi Nyoro has just come up with a new scheme called the “Masomo Bora” school support program, which will provide Sh500 per term and daily lunch to the students, thus threatening to change the public education funding system in Kenya.
During his speech at the Nyeri County Assembly, Governor Nyoro presented the program as a strategic emergency response to the widespread challenges that low-income families are facing.
The governor announced that full primary schools will receive daily child nourishment, along with a Sh500 support grant for each child per term, which will be applicable from this academic quarter. This is one of the most progressive county-level education cash-transfer schemes in recent history.
“We have to stop pretending that it is okay for kids to go to school without food or that they can be allowed to quit school just because they do not have these essential supports,” said Nyoro.
“Masomo Bora is not a gift but rather a contribution towards our children and future workforce as well as the prosperity of this nation.”
The daily meal, which is to be obtained mostly from local farmers, is seen as both a good way to support education and a means to help the agricultural community. The officials assured that the meals will be well-balanced in terms of nutrition and that they will be aimed at increasing the children’s concentration and overall health.
The subsidy of Sh500 per term will be paid to the schools as direct assistance to the welfare of the pupils, while the whole process will be very transparent and accountable. According to Nyoro, the funds will be monitored through a digital tracking system, which will ensure that the money reaches the right people and is not misused.
The education stakeholders and the parents have reacted with disbelief and cautious positivity, calling the program a game changer for regions where hunger and school dropouts still prevail.
Some analysts think that the Masomo Bora project will lead to other counties adopting similar measures and the national government reconsidering its school feeding and support policies because of the pressure coming from below.
On the other hand, the critics have pointed out the issue of financial sustainability and oversight and have even questioned how long the county funds would be able to sustain such a wide welfare program without national backing or the creation of new revenue streams.
In his statement, Governor Nyoro, who has been in the limelight throughout this program, mentioned that it will formally start this month, the full implementation will be done in all the ten sub-counties in the next school term, and he also assured that the public will be informed periodically about the audits done on the project to help build the trust of the people in the project.
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