Shock of 14,000 students yet to join university despite admission

University of Nairobi students protest over new university funding model. [File, Standard] Some 14,000 students who were placed in universities this year have not yet reported, raising concerns about the country's university funding model. While the Ministry of Education had projected that 138,538 students would join institutions of higher learning, only 124,364 students have so far reported. Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, while appearing in Parliament last week to answer questions from MPs, was at pains to explain what the government is doing to mop the learners to join. Samburu West MP Naisula Lesuuda questioned the gap between those placed and those reporting, pushing for answers on behalf of the 14,000 missing students."If such a huge number of students fail to report, it signals that something is fundamentally wrong," she argued. Ogamba acknowledged that not all placed students always report. "It was expected that 122,634 students would report but 124,364 students reported. About 2,000 more students reported than the expected trends," Ogamba said.He also noted that a survey is currently underway to understand where these students might be. "Some students opt out for various reasons which include multiple admissions, choose private institutions abroad, or even get married," said Ogamba. This comes as students from various universities have opposed the new student-centred model calling on the government to revert to the old model. "We are not backing down. If the funding model is to be implemented, we demand that Bands 4 and 5 be scrapped, and that students pursue their courses based on merit, as was the case previously," said Rocha Madzao, a student's leader at the University of Nairobi. Butula MP Maero Oyula said wrong banding continues affecting students from vulnerable families. "The system is failing our most vulnerable. I have a case of a disabled student who was placed in Band 1 last year. Come this year, he was moved to Band 2. There is a case where a student was put at Band 5 yet the parent is just a cobbler," said Oyula, to which Ogamba responded: "The assurance that we can give you is that the system is not being tampered with. What we will find out is what the cause of that error is. It could be one incident. Any particular IT system sometimes gets into hitches and can cause such a move. If it has been tampered with, it will leave some footprints and we will find out." Kilifi North MP Owen Baya urged the government to devise another format of banding learners for funding. "If you have such a huge number of students failing to report to university, that means that the Means Testing Instrument (MTI) did not capture their data properly and that something is significantly wrong with it," he said. In response to the overwhelming concerns, the CS promised to leave the appeal portal open until December 2024 to give deferred students or those who missed out on applying last year another chance. "We will not disenfranchise these students. We agreed to create this portal so that even those who had not applied last year, can apply and get a chance to go back to school. We have about 12,000 students who have applied," he said, assuring that universities will work out issues around banding and ensure no student is sent home unfairly. The conversation in Parliament revealed the complexities behind the issue. The MTI, a tool meant to categorise students based on financial need, has come under fire for its inefficiencies. Nyeri Town MP Duncan Mathenge pointed out that the MTI relies on financial data captured after the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results, rather than leveraging earlier student records. "This system assumes students only begin to exist after KCSE, while the National Education Management Information System has tracked their progress from day one," Mathenge said. Baya raised concerns of cases of students being placed in private universities they couldn't afford. "These are bright young people who want to study medicine but are trapped in private institutions because there are no slots in public universities," he said. But Ogamba said students are placed in courses and universities by merit. "When students choose certain universities but they are not able to go there because of their marks, then the system places them in a different university," he said. Igembe South's Julius M'anaiba observed that some courses, particularly in public institutions, are more expensive than those in private universities despite government subsidies, forcing some learners to drop. "It costs more to train a doctor at the University of Nairobi than at Mount Kenya University. How can that be when public universities receive more funding?" Homa Bay Woman Rep Atieno Bensuda lamented that many learners in remote areas or those from marginalised communities are wasted. "We are discussing theories in this room but students are stuck in their villages unable to report to school. We need real solutions, not just promises," Bensuda said.

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