Every January, a tragic ritual plays out across Kenya. Desperate parents queue for hours outside NG-CDF offices, clutching fee structures and pleading for crumbs, while politicians dole out cheques like personal favors. It is a system designed not to educate, but to subjugate.

The Star’s latest editorial strikes a nerve that every Kenyan knows is raw: the bursary system is broken. Instead of a streamlined, rights-based approach to education funding, we have created a fragmented patronage network that serves the reelection interests of Members of Parliament rather than the dreams of the Kenyan child.

A Tool of Control

The numbers do not add up. The government pumps billions into NG-CDF, county bursaries, and presidential initiatives, yet millions of students are sent home for lack of fees. Why? Because the distribution is inefficient and riddled with favoritism.

• The Efficiency Gap: A centralized system, like the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) or a capitation model, would ensure funds follow the learner. Instead, we have 290 constituency fiefdoms with 290 different sets of rules.
• The Dignity Cost: Education is a constitutional right, not a charitable donation from a "Mheshimiwa." Forcing parents to beg for KES 3,000 cheques is an indignity that no tax-paying citizen should endure.

The "So What?"

This is not just about money; it is about the future of our workforce. When a bright student in Turkana or Kilifi drops out because they didn't know the "right" person at the CDF office, Kenya loses a doctor, an engineer, or a teacher. The editorial argues for a radical consolidation: pool these funds into a single, transparent kitty managed by education professionals, not politicians.

"We must stop politicizing poverty," the editors write. "A child's access to a classroom should never depend on their parents' political alignment." It is a clarion call for the Ministry of Education to reclaim its mandate and end the bursary lottery once and for all.