Education stakeholders have called on the government to address delays in funding for university and college students, amid concerns that families are being forced to borrow from informal lenders to keep their children in school.
Addressing the media on Sunday, Policy Advisor at Elimu Bora Working Group, Boaz Waruku, said thousands of learners remain stranded at home or in institutions without confirmed funding, despite earlier government commitments to support their education.
Waruku said some families had abandoned plans to organise harambees to raise fees after relying on the government’s funding promise, only to be left struggling when the expected disbursement failed to materialise.
He warned that learners from poor households should not be pushed into debt because of a government commitment that has not yet been fulfilled.
“We want parliament to legislate the right, not the promise. Right now we are rushing to ensure that the promise by the president bears fruit, but we need to work towards the right, not the promise,” Waruku said.
He said a memorandum had already been submitted to Parliament seeking proposed changes to the law governing higher education financing.
“We are embracing the aspect of bringing the Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill, because it starts by emphasising universal placement. The principle of universal funding, to say full government funding, that we have embraced. But the mechanism of actualising these principles is what is lacking, and our memorandum to parliament is on what should be done,” he said.
Waruku called for the government to clearly state its position on students affected by the September intake and provide a clear plan to address their funding and placement challenges.
For students who have already secured placement and are attending their institutions, he called for the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) and the Universities Fund to receive their allocations immediately.
He said the move would enable the two agencies to release interim funding to students affected by the delays as the wider funding challenges are addressed.
For learners who remain at home while waiting for placement, Waruku proposed that the Ministry of Interior coordinate a mop-up exercise to help them travel to their designated institutions.
He said the students would then be able to access the interim funding once it is released.
Waruku also raised concern about the impact of the funding delays on universities and colleges, questioning how administrators are expected to keep their institutions running without government disbursements.
He called for funds to also be released to the institutions to support their operations during the funding crisis.
Waruku further appealed to Members of Parliament to treat the matter with urgency and help address the challenges facing students, families and learning institutions.
