Following the establishment of the Maziwa ni School Fees Program by Cooperatives CS Wycliffe Oparanya, cooperatives from the Uasin Gishu now have the option to pay school fees using milk rather than cash.
In an effort to lower the county’s school dropout rate, the new scheme will allow milk farmers in the Farmers Cooperative Society (FCS) to use milk to pay their kids’ tuition.
Oparanya claims that this initiative helps pupils learn continually without being interrupted by school expenses, in addition to strengthening cooperative societies through greater milk production.
“I’m glad the Maziwa ni School Fees Program is being used here, and I hope dairy cooperatives across the nation will adopt it as well. If it even graduates from dairy cooperatives to other cooperatives, it would make me happy,” Oparanya remarked.
Governor Jonathan Bii Chelilim came up with the idea, and Tuiyo Farmers Cooperative is now the site of a pilot program. Other cooperatives in the county will soon follow.
Participating dairy cooperatives enter into partnerships with schools as part of the scheme, enabling parents to bring milk every day, which will be applied to their children’s tuition.
The initiative has an application that has automated the procedure so that the fees are immediately paid to the school where the milk is delivered as soon as the two liters of milk are delivered each day.
The total amount of milk delivered will be determined at the end of each month, and the amount will be subtracted to cover school expenses.
Following the completion of the procedure, the cooperative chairperson makes sure that a receipt for the school payments is created and provided to the parents.
As the main guest at the inaugural event, the CS praised the schools that have joined the cooperative for the program and disclosed that it has significantly reduced the financial strain that cooperators were under.
The program attempts to increase milk production in addition to lowering the school dropout rate. Through this scheme, parents will be able to save the heifers rather than selling their animals to cover school expenses.
Through its extension services, the county government will provide assistance and direction to farmers whose milk supply is not enough to pay school fees in order to increase production.
The goal of this component of the project is to guarantee inclusion so that more families can take advantage of the program.
