Embakasi East Member of Parliament (MP) Babu Owino has launched an initiative to have all students expelled or suspended from institutions of higher learning reinstated to complete their studies, describing arbitrary disciplinary action by university administrations as a major challenge to the right to education.
Speaking in a video posted on his Facebook account on Wednesday, March 25, Owino, who is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya, said he intends to file a petition in the High Court to compel institutions to readmit affected students.
“I urge all students who have been suspended from as far back as 20 years ago to as recent as one day ago to contact me. I want to do a petition to the High Court of Kenya to ensure that these students are given another chance to pursue education,” the lawmaker said.
Owino framed the issue as one of constitutional rights, invoking Article 43(1)(f) of the Constitution of Kenya, which guarantees every person the right to education.
“Since education is a right enshrined in our constitution, these students must be given a chance to complete their education,” he said.
The lawmaker underscored the socioeconomic weight carried by university students, arguing that expelling or suspending them does not only harm individuals but entire communities that pool resources to take one or two of their own to higher learning.
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“These students are the lights of their families. You find that in a whole village, there are only one or two students who are going to the university. Therefore, these students are the work of a community. The communities came together and raised fees for them with the intention that one day these ladies and gentlemen would change their lives,” Owino said.
Drawing on his own biography, the MP noted that education had been central to his rise, and that every student deserves a second chance regardless of the circumstances leading to their suspension or expulsion.
Owino called on all affected students, regardless of which institution they attended or how long ago they were disciplined, to reach out to him through social media, providing their contact details and the name of their institution.
The MP’s move revives a cause he has championed before. In 2019, Owino petitioned the National Assembly, asking the Education Committee chairperson Julius Melly to summon university heads over repeated infringements on students’ constitutional rights, particularly targeting politically active student leaders.
By Benedict Aoya
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