Fresh storm over varsity funding as State plots to crush students

Maseno University gruduates during a previous graduation ceremony. [File, Standard]

The Government is preparing a raft of tough new measures against planned violent protests of the Higher Education Funding (HEF) model.

In response to growing unrest, a multi-agency task force comprising senior officials from the Ministries of Education and Interior, National Police Service(NPS), State House, and top university administrators has finalized plans for tough consequences to curtail student disruptions.

These measures, which were agreed upon last Friday, reflect the government's resolve to maintain order as tensions over the controversial student-centred funding model escalate.

At the heart of the protests is the government’s revamped HEF model, which has sparked outrage among students, particularly third and fourth-year students.

This is despite the students still using the old model, known as Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) thus not affected by the reformed model, which was introduced last year.

Despite this, they have become the most vocal critics of the model, organizing protests and making demands to either scrap or revise the funding structure.

“The third- and fourth-year students making the loudest noise about the model are interestingly not affected by the new university funding system,” revealed a senior government official involved in the discussions.

Nonetheless, the protests, organized by student leaders from various universities across the country, are scheduled to begin tomorrow. 

Student leaders have vowed to paralyze learning in all institutions unless their demands are met.

In response, the government has planned a set of stringent measures to be taken against students engaging in violent protests.

Students found participating in disruptive activities will face permanent criminal records, expulsion, and loss of access to government financial aid.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) will mark the criminal records of any student arrested for fomenting unrest, ensuring they carry the mark for life.

Additionally, those involved in destructive acts during the protests will be surcharged for any damage caused.

“The police have been instructed to keep roads around universities open to the public and ensure that all citizens are able to go about their business and enjoy their constitutional rights without disruption. There will be no tolerance for lawlessness,” said a government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

As part of these hardline measures, Vice Chancellors (VCs) have been firmly instructed to close universities indefinitely if student protests turn violent.

The government has also authorized the disbandment of university student councils if their leaders organize protests that descend into chaos. 

In such cases, VCs have been directed to put in place transitional student leadership to restore order.

“The VCs have been firmly instructed to close universities indefinitely if the students go to the streets,” the official confirmed.

Additionally, the government has issued instructions to student leaders to prioritize dialogue over protests.

“The government made serious efforts to engage the student leaders and explain the model, and it has agreed to review the model going forward. The president and ministry of education officials have made various attempts to engage the students, but shockingly our budding intellectuals seem not to be conversant with the model they are agitating about. They have not even read the model and sadly rely on hearsay, rumours, and propaganda against the model,” said the same official.

While the government remains open to discussions, it has made it clear that it will not tolerate student blackmail or violent disruptions. “We are ready for discussions on the model, but we will not accept student blackmail,” said the official.

The unrest among students stems from dissatisfaction with the new university funding model, which was introduced to address the financial crisis facing Kenya’s higher education sector and save universities sagging under the weight of debilitating debt.

Under the previous model, the government subsidized 80% of tuition fees for all students, a system that proved unsustainable. By mid-2023, 23 out of the country’s 40 universities were verging on bankruptcy.

President William Ruto, who has come under praise and criticism in equal measure for the speed of reform and implementation, defended the new funding model during a Town Hall meeting with university students in late August.

According to Ruto, the old model was causing severe damage to the education system because it assumed that all courses were equally expensive and that the government had enough money to fund them.

“The old model was almost destroying our education because it assumed that all courses were the same,” President Ruto explained. “It also assumed that the government had the money to pay 80% for everybody when it did not, and the results were disastrous.”

The president emphasized that the new model differentiates between the costs of different courses, ensuring that programs like medicine, which are among the most expensive to deliver, receive adequate funding. 

“A course in medicine costs Sh600,000 to train a student,” Ruto said. “Therefore, the government gives more for the student as a percentage because it costs more to train them. If we don’t, we end up with graduates who are half-baked because they didn’t receive the proper resources for their education.”

The president’s defense was supported by senior university administrators, many of whom argue that the new model is the only viable solution to the financial crisis threatening Kenya’s universities.

Prof Daniel Mugendi, Vice Chancellor of the University of Embu and Chairman of the Vice-Chancellors Forum, noted that the old model had left many universities on the brink of insolvency.

“As of June 2023, 23 out of the 40 universities were technically insolvent. The first round of the new model, which began last year, has already helped many universities recover,” Prof Mugendi said.

“We’ve done simulations, and we expect that in three years, all universities will have turned around financially.

Despite these assurances, student leaders continue to demand that the government either scrap or revise the new model.

They argue that the Means Testing Instrument (MTI), used to classify students into funding bands, is riddled with inaccuracies, which unfairly penalizes students from lower-income households.

Student leaders have also raised concerns that the government failed to consult them when formulating the model, leaving them excluded from critical decisions.

“Students were not involved when they were formulating this new model,” said Boniface Ododa, a student leader from Kenyatta University. “We must remind them that it’s time they invite us to the committee table.”

However, government officials have pointed out that many of the students leading the protests do not fully understand the model, nor have they taken steps to appeal their classifications.

“The government has challenged any needy student who has been ‘mis-banded’ to appeal and also liaise with both the Ministry of Education and HELB. Many of these students planning agitation have not even tried to appeal their cases,” a senior official noted.

The officials handling the crisis have also expressed frustration with student leaders, accusing them of spreading misinformation. “These students are relying on rumours and propaganda instead of facts. The government has made every effort to engage with them, but they are unwilling to listen.”

With student protests set to begin tomorrow, the government’s stance is clear: violent protests will not be tolerated, and students involved will face severe consequences.

The police, university administrators, and government officials have all been briefed on the measures to be taken in case of disruptions.

Student leaders, however, remain resolute, with many insisting that they will continue their protests until the government agrees to their demands.

Among their key concerns is the removal of the last two funding bands, which they claim are particularly punitive, and a reduction in the interest charged on Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) loans from 4 per cent to 2 per cent.

“We have tried to engage the government, but our concerns have not been addressed,” said Rocha Madzayo, President of the University of Nairobi Students Association. “This funding model is too expensive, and it will lock out many students from poor families who deserve a chance at higher education.”

The Ministry of Education, meanwhile, continues to face a flood of appeals from students contesting their placement into funding categories. 

Over 12,000 students have registered appeals through the HEF portal, with national administration officers involved in the process of verifying details newly submitted to revise the bands.

The protests come at a particularly sensitive time for the government, as the University Academic Staff Union (UASU) at the Technical University of Kenya (TUK) has also threatened to strike over unresolved grievances, further exacerbating the crisis.

As the protests loom, the government’s message to students remains firm: the door to dialogue is open, but only through formal channels.

Senior officials have reiterated that they are willing to engage with student leaders at the negotiating table, but will not bow to pressure from street protests.

“There is no engagement on the streets,” a senior government official stressed. “We are ready to talk, but it must happen at the negotiating table.” affected by the reformed funding system.