Residents of Isiolo County, most of whom have lost a big percentage of their livestock to the current prolonged drought, now have a reason to smile after elected leaders from the region agreed to pay school fees in full for all students from both Isiolo North and Isiolo South Constituencies.

While making the announcement, Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo said as elected leaders, they have agreed on a formula to ensure that all learners are catered for so that none of them fails to report back to school as a result of the severe drought that has almost depleted livestock in the region.

 According to Governor Guyo, Isiolo North MP Joseph Samaland and his Isiolo South counterpart Mohamed Tubi have committed to pay fees for learners attending schools within their respective constituencies courtesy of the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF), while the County Government will pay school fees for those attending schools outside their home constituencies and even outside Isiolo County.

He made the announcement at Algani Girls Secondary School in Kinnaward, Garbatula Sub-County during an event to celebrate a remarkable performance by candidates from the school who emerged second in the county.

The move provides a huge sigh of relief for parents who are predominantly pastoralist and are now counting losses following depletionof animals that they have relied on for many years, being a source of food and even using proceeds from the sale of their camels, cows, goats and sheep to pay school fees for their children.

The leaders also pledged to ensure that Algani Girls’ Secondary School which was started in 2018 and lacks basic facilities such as a science laboratory, library, dining hall, school bus and even a fence is well equipped to enable the girls to perform even better in future exams.