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| Chuka University Graduating Class of 2022 Photo: Twitter |
Every child dream of going to the University and landing that dream "Aeronautical Engineering", "Neurosurgeon" and "Mechatronic Engineering" job at a prestigious company but if the latest news is anything to go by children from rich families will have to fork out even more to get a hold of a degree.
First reported in the Business Daily, the University Funding Board (UFB) that is tasked with allocation of student funds to universities is apparently pushing for the government to cut funding for the children of the rich at universities.
The review is expected to affect even the government-sponsored students who attained the minimum requirements to join the university and pursue the course they were selected in.
Initially, every student who attained the minimum requirement to do a particular degree had the government pay at least Kshs. 70,000 annually towards their university education with only Self-Sponsored students bearing the full cost of the degree which sometimes goes to the upwards of Kshs. 600,000 for some courses.
The UFB backed by the Treasury and university-vice chancellors is seeking to review the allocations to reflect the students' family income status.
The move is coming on the back of the resolution by the government to implement 100% transition to either University or Tertiary Institutions after the completion of the secondary education. The government's undertaking meant the government was to spend more on students with less of them opting for Self-Sponsorship.
With the Treasury rejecting to give in to the moves by the universities to seek additional funding while directing them to review the State funding of the students, freeze hiring and raise the out-of-pocket fees paid by the learners; it seems like the policy is likely to be adopted.
The policy brief introduced by the UFB seeks to gradually introduce targeted free tuition to shift the burden of higher education funding to only needy and bright students.
The Board argued that parents who can afford paying over Kshs. 175,000 annually in schools like Kabarak Primary School and over Kshs. 200,000 annually at the secondary school can afford to pay huge sums of money for their children's university degree.
The State is seeking to have the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) vet the students when disbursing the funds, with those from rich families being locked out. The metrics that will be used to determine whether a student is from a rich background are not yet clear.
Also, with the continued cash crunch that has forced some universities to scrap some courses and reconstitute their departments; it is almost expected that the fees will rise to new levels during the next intake.
Do you think students from rich families should pay more for the university degree even after qualifying? Is it fair? Will you pay more for the course that someone who entered on the same criteria paid less? Let us know in the comment below.
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