More than 20,000 students do not submit Helb loan applications.
Because over 20,000 university students chose not to apply for Higher Education Financing, the government was left with an additional Sh2 billion to support the most disadvantaged pupils.
The head of lending at Higher Education Loans Board, Dr. Kingori Ndegwa, stated that the new university model is student-centered and aims to help the underprivileged, in contrast to the previous model, which sponsored all students regardless of their families financial situation.
According to him, the Sh2 billion that would have been awarded to students from wealthy families would instead go into scholarships for students in band one, who only have to pay 5% of the total cost of their program.
At a town hall meeting held at Mount Kenya University, Ndegwa addressed a group of stakeholders, parents, students, and leaders of university students in East Africa.
Radio Jambo broadcast the gathering live through Radio Africa Events.
According to Ndegwa, the government had to pay a high price for the previous approach, which was based on differentiated unit cost (DUC).
“The early 1990s model was designed to have the government cover 80 percent of the cost of the learners’ courses, with the remaining 20 percent to be covered by parents or Helb loans,” he explained.
According to Ndegwa, the government’s inability to cover 68% of the differential unit cost in the system’s first year of operation caused it to fail from the start.
He said that by 2022, the government would only have paid 38% of the DUC, which had left many universities in a state of operational paralysis as a result of unpaid debt totaling more than Sh61 billion, while some had even closed.
Ndegwa stated that predictions indicated the previous model would only have 32% funding by now and would ultimately fail in two to three years.
He said, “The President appointed a task force to review the education system when the current government came into power, and they concluded it was prudent to use the new funding model to universities and students.”
According to Ndegwa, the former approach, in which universities received a set sum to support all students, caused the institutions to struggle and produce graduates who were lacking in infrastructure and equipment.
“Due to financial constraints, lecturers were not supervising learners on attachment, and the situation was dire—students were not even going on education trips, which is a requirement in the studies,” he stated.
According to Ndegwa, things will only become worse in the higher education system, particularly for technical courses that demand a lot of supplies and tools.
He claimed that it is unjust to lump all students together, irrespective of their family circumstances, as the most vulnerable were dropping out of school or postponing their studies due to DUC.
According to Ndegwa, “under the previous model, parents were expected to pay for what the government did not cover through its funding, which caused many problems such as deferment, missing exams, and dropping out.”
However, he noted that a lack of funding has left university infrastructure in disrepair.
According to Jacqueline Omuya, director of Mt Kenya University Nakuru Campus, students from low-income households would have an opportunity to complete their education under the new university funding model.
Civic education is necessary, she added, adding that “many of those who are opposing it will understand and embrace it because it will benefit many needy families.”
Omuya stated that the new model only needed minor adjustments and asked individuals who were against it to learn about and comprehend the new higher education financing system.
More than 20,000 students do not submit Helb loan applications.
