A group of young parliamentarians has vowed to move to court over government’s plan to hike university fee saying it should be stopped by all means. The lawmakers said if the plan is implemented it will deny several students a chance to join institutions of higher learning.
Speaking to members of the press at Parliament buildings on Wednesday, February 27, Kenya Young Parliamentarians Association Secretary General, Paul Ongili alias Babu Owino, said the institutions’ leaders should consider seeking for other sources of money. “Let the vice chancellors seek for other sources of raising money to run universities and if they can’t run the universities we are sorry, we are going to appoint other competent people to run these universities,” said Owino. “We are going to file an injunction to prevent the vice chancellors from increasing fees in universities,” he added.
The Embakasi East MP also said they shall push to have Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) increase loans for students and at the same time compel them to waiver the interest rates. Alego Usonga MP Samuel Atandi blamed mismanagement of funds in universities as the major ingredient fueling the demand for more money by the administrators. “If you go to the University of Nairobi or Kenyatta you will find several projects that have stalled and some of these projects are merely meant for siphoning public resources,” said Atandi. The legislators shall head to court on Thursday, February 28, to file the petition.
Already, Education Cabinet Secretary, Amina Mohamed, has given a go ahead to the proposal which seeks to increase fees for government sponsored students from KSh 16,000 to KSh 48,000. The CS argued the increment would help in easing financial burden for the public universities which are said to be grappling with acute shortage of funds needed to facilitate smooth operations. Learners have also threatened to call for a massive protest against the proposal and call for resignation of the CS over mismanagement of the education sector.