Students oppose the proposed university funding model.
Students’ rejection of the New Funding Model, which targets them in TVETs and colleges, is intensifying the controversy.
Student leaders have referred to the model as an excessive burden for low-income households, even though the government has invested over Sh24 billion in it since its introduction last year.
The student leaders claimed that since they were not part of the original process, the system will ultimately use loans to enslave them.
This was discovered during the Department of Higher Education’s and national student representatives’ assessment of the new model at Lake Naivasha Resort.
According to Fredrick Ndambuki, the department’s secretary of administration, the funding model was created to match student requirements rather than those of institutions.
Speaking to the pupils, he explained that the new model divided them into five groups according to the income levels of their households.
According to him, 110,223 university applications have been approved so far, and Sh11.74 billion in loans and scholarships have been given out.
However, he bemoaned the low 80 percent graduation rate from secondary schools to colleges, saying that the government was eager to rectify this.
“A total of 201,146 students who qualified have been placed in various degree programs at universities, making up 76.2% of the student body,” he stated.
Geoffrey Monari, CEO of Universities Fund, supported the new model, calling it a revolutionary step toward a more just and efficient system of finance for education.
He stated, “We have received complaints from students regarding this model, such as the high loan amounts, and we will certainly investigate their concerns.”
Omar Makokha, the leader of Pwani University, demanded that the model be withdrawn because students were not involved in its early development.
He was surrounded by other student leaders when he called the evaluation process a publicity stunt and said that the new model will put too much pressure on parents and students.
“We will reject this model, which the state has forced upon us because it is enslaving us with loans that we do not know how we will pay,” he declared.
Zipporah Wacera of Karatina University expressed similar opinions, pointing out that tuition costs had gone up at the expense of underprivileged students who had to rely more on loans.
“This new model is not working; instead, it is frustrating students in TVETs and universities by leaving them with no choice but to take on enormous loans,” the speaker claimed.
Students oppose the proposed university funding model.
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