University of Nairobi Student leaders demand nationwide strikes over the funding model.
University of Nairobi Student leaders demand nationwide strikes over the funding model.
The University of Nairobi (UoN) student leaders announced nationwide protests against the new university funding model’s implementation on Saturday, following a public outcry over its implementation.
The UoN student leaders invited other students from other colleges across the nation to participate in their planned demonstration, which is scheduled to begin on Monday, September 2, during an interview with the media on Saturday at noon.
The students expressed their displeasure with the new funding scheme and called it unfair, saying it restricted Kenyans’ access to higher education.
The leaders of the University of Northwestern students claim that their attempts to discuss the issue with the government have failed, leaving them with little choice but to organize the countrywide protests.
One of the student leaders said, “The general public is crying because they have been put in the wrong bands and forced to pay excessive amounts of fees.”
“It is imperative that the government pays attention to the calls from all students—mostly from the University of Nevada—to come out on August 2.”
The most recent change comes after Julius Migos, the secretary of the Education Cabinet, told students that the government was working to address their concerns.
The Higher Education Financing (HEF) portal has received approximately 10,000 appeals from disgruntled students challenging the new university funding model, according to information released by the Ministry of Education on August 23.
According to Godfrey Monari, chief executive officer of Universities Fund, the review process has already started, and students should know the outcome of their appeals three weeks after submitting their applications.
Over 10,000 appeals have been submitted, and the process is still underway. In order to place these financially disadvantaged pupils in the appropriate funding band, we need to know where they are, according to Monari.
“We will notify the universities to review the students’ household costs after we conclude the appeals. Along with an SMS notice to notify the students, we will also post this information on the HEF portal,” he continued.
Monari stated that in order to guarantee the veracity and correctness of the data supplied, the Ministry was thinking about using the National Government Administration Officers (NGAO) to verify appeal cases.
University of Nairobi Student leaders demand nationwide strikes over the funding model.
