Education in the country can become free if all the bursaries, loans and scholarships the government is offering are collapsed and consolidated into one fund.
This is according to Chief Justice Martha Koome who has taken issue with the new university education funding model that has grouped learners into five bands based on their family’s financial muscle.
Speaking on Wednesday, the CJ said some learners have been banded in groups that require them to pay higher fees whereas they come from financially challenged households, something she said was unjust.
“I stopped watching news because of these very depressing items that keep flashing to our faces to remind us how unequal and how unjust we are in a society. That a child who has qualified to go the university can be there crying saying I have been put in Band 5 when I ought to be in Band 1 and therefore I cannot afford to go to the university,” she said.
Under the new university education funding model, learners from needy families have been put in Band 1 and accorded higher loans and scholarships compared to those in Band 5.
The Ministry of Education said it used the Means Testing Instrument (MTI) to determine the appropriate financial assistance each learner deserves based on self-generated information on their family background including monthly income.
To put Koome’s concern into context, a learner in Band 1 is one from a household whose monthly income does not exceed Sh5,995 while a learner in Band 5 is one from a household with a monthly income above Sh120,000.
The learner in Band 1 is entitled to 95 per cent government support in terms of scholarships (70 per cent) and loans (25 per cent) plus Sh60,000 upkeep loan.
Parents will contribute only 5 per cent to the cost of the education.
Comparatively, a learner in Band 5 will receive 60 per cent government support for whatever course they will be studying comprising 30 per cent scholarship, 30 per cent loan plus an upkeep loan of Sh40,000.
The family will foot 40 per cent of the total cost of their education.
“When you follow you find that a child of a well-to-do family has been put in Band 1,” Koome said.
In her opinion, CJ Koome feels that if all these monies are consolidated into one fund, the amount will be sufficient for the government to run a free education programme.
“There’s a bursary fund from the taxpayers’ money given to the governor, women rep, given to the MP through CDF and MCA,” she said.
“All those bursaries, how are they disbursed? Why don’t you put them in Education and make Education free for all? She asked.
The Chief Justice was speaking during the launch of the Strategic Guiding Framework for Greening Kenya’s Justice System and Dissemination of Research Findings.
It was organised by the National Council on the Administration of Justice which she chairs.
She appeared to be reading from the same script as members of the National Assembly who on Tuesday pushed for the consolidation of all state bursaries, loans and scholarships to make university fees affordable.
Led by Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, Parliament wants the different bursary schemes merged to attain what they believe would be free college and university education in the country.
MPs insisted that the different schemes collapsed into one would be enough to make university education free in the country.
They were speaking during an open forum or Kamkunji, called to debate the new university funding model amid complaints about some students being placed in the wrong bands, thus threatening their dreams of pursuing higher education.
State Department for Higher Education and Research PS Beatrice Inyangala admitted that there has been a mix-up when some universities were communicating the banding results to students but said there’s an avenue for them to appeal.
“Students should verify the loan and scholarship awards on the Higher Education Fund portal through www.hef.co.ke,” Inyangala said, adding that there are desks at universities where learners with complaints will be able to have wrong placement rectified.
Wetang’ula directed the PS to take to the House a policy proposal to inform a new law that would ensure all the schemes are collapsed to provide free university education.
“MCAs are giving bursaries, the Woman Representative is giving bursaries, the MP is giving bursaries, Helb is disbursing bursaries, University Fund is giving funds. We have private providers and banks giving scholarships and bursaries,” Wetang’ula said.
“If you can generate policy, this House will be more than happy to turn it into a law so that we can amalgamate and consolidate these funds.”