Do We Need Bursaries?
On Wednesday, the 2nd July, 2025, Parliament overwhelmingly passed the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2025, to anchor the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF), the Senate Oversight Fund (SOF), and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) into the Constitution.
While it provides sustainable certainty and stability in future fundings, many legitimate constitutional, legal and governance questions arise from this. Of particular concern is the continued battle for control of the essential bursary allocations funded through the various bursary kitties.
Of course bursaries matter for various reasons including:
✅ They protect children from vulnerable backgrounds from educational exclusion.
✅ They promote social mobility and fairness.
✅ They ensure taxpayer money directly benefits communities.
✅ They complement broader social protection systems (like cash transfers or school feeding programs) by directly addressing educational vulnerability.
While formalizing these funds in the Constitution could help protect them from legal challenges, there must be far stronger safeguards on how bursaries are identified, allocated, and reported. It is necessary to adopt community-based verification, independent audits, and publicly accessible data on beneficiaries.
When bursaries are fairly and transparently managed, they become a true investment in Kenya’s human capital, protecting the futures of millions of children and thus function as an essential social protection mechanism for vulnerable.
