Some university and college students’ leaders across the country have opposed to the planned reduction of the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) kitty in higher education institutions.
The students’ leaders led by Naomi Chebet, the Kenya Methodist University president tabled the proposed reduction of KSh3.7 billion in the budget allocated to HELB in the 2024/2025 Financial Year by the National Treasury as discriminative as it means more students will miss out on the funding despite the fact that most of them are already struggling to fund their studies.
“The number of students in higher learning institutions has increased by about 200,000 for the last five years and therefore if anything is to be done to HELB, is increasing the money. The new education funding model has become expensive and there are many students who come from humble backgrounds who rely on HELB to continue with their studies,” she said.
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Evans Muchanga of Chuka University on his part said that reducing HELB will see most students, who have been beneficiaries of the loans, fail to complete their studies.
“HELB is the salary of our comrades, without it we cannot survive,” he said
In the proposal which has been submitted to the Members of Parliament (MP) for approval, there is a 10 per cent decrease from the previous allocation.
With the suggested allocation of KSh33.3 billion to HELB, it means under the new model, students would receive a revised range of KSh37, 000 to KSh47, 000 as opposed to the previous range of KSh35, 000 to KSh60, 000.
The students who addressed the media over the weekend asked the National Treasury to shelve the proposals and urged the MPs not to approve it.
“We are calling on the legislators and other stakeholders including the Ministry of Education to reject the proposal because if it is approved, higher education in Kenya will only be a reserve of the rich, the poor will never further their studies,” Chebet said.
By Vostine Ratemo
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