Education CS Julius Ogamba.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has announced that the government will form 2 working committees to engage students and other stakeholders on the new controversial university funding model.
In a statement on Sunday, Ogamba said the two committees will comprise of the university student leadership and other stakeholders in the education sector.
“This call has been at the heart of recent student concerns, culminating in the announcement of demonstrations planned for 9th September 2024, Thus, for greater efficiency and to achieve meaningful student participation and involvement, the Ministry is constituting two time-bound Working Committees that will draw membership from the student leadership, in addition to experts and other relevant stakeholders,” read the statement in part.
The two working committees will review the status of the implementation of the new funding model and make recommendations for improvement.
The specific terms of reference for the committees will cover the appraisal of the implementation of the new funding model for higher education, evaluation of the effectiveness of the means testing instrument in ensuring that the categorization of students captures their socio-economic realities and assessment of the efficacy of the appeals mechanism in achieving correct student categorization for funding.
The committees will also analyze the cost of programs in the universities and review the structure of student loans, the attendant interest rates, and the period of payment.
CS Ogamba called on university student leadership to call off the planned strikes to allow room for the consultative process.
“In order to allow room for this open consultative process, the university student leadership is requested to call off the demonstrations scheduled for 9th September 2024,” Ogamba added.
The new university funding model has categorized students into five bands based on family income. Band 1 is for families with a monthly income up to Sh5,995 while Band 2 covers families with a monthly income up to Sh23,670.
Band 3 is for families with a monthly income up to Sh70,000 and Band 4 is for families with a monthly income up to Sh120,000. Families with a monthly income above Sh120,000 have been categorized in band 5.
Also Read: Azimio Faults Ruto’s New University Funding Model, Issues Demands
