University students suspend demos on new funding model to mourn Endarasha Tragedy victims.
In the aftermath of the devastating Endarasha school fire, a coalition of university student leaders has temporarily called off planned protests against the government’s new higher education finance scheme. The protest suspension is intended to allow the country to mourn for the pupils who perished in the fire.
The student leaders, led by Rocha Madzao, President of the University of Nairobi Student Association, denounced the Ministry of Education for its inability to guarantee school safety.
“It is sad that such incidents are still happening in this century. We mourn as comrades alongside Kenyans,” said Rocha, expressing deep sorrow over the deaths.
The Endarasha tragedy was the main topic of discussion in the leaders’ remarks, but they also used the occasion to attack the government’s recently implemented new model for university finance.
According to Rocha, the new approach jeopardizes the education of several deserving kids by excluding them from financial aid. He clarified that the nation had put protests on hold to honor the period of grief, but they would resume once the nation had had time to process the loss.
Rocha urged students who were sent away due to a lack of fees to reach out, ensuring that they would work with their respective universities to resolve the issue after the mourning period.
President of the Kenya Methodist University Student Association, Naomi Chebet called on the government to abandon the new financial arrangement, echoing Rocha’s worries. Despite its flaws, Chebet maintained that the earlier system was still superior to the current one, which she referred to as “impractical.”
“The new funding model is impractical if the previous one was unsustainable,” the speaker stated. Despite numerous meetings with the President and the Ministry of Education, Chebet accused the administration of disregarding the concerns raised by student leaders. She affirmed that after the Endarasha victims’ funerals, students would picket again in opposition to the new model.
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The government’s new higher education finance scheme, which divides students into four categories: vulnerable, severely needy, needy, and less needy, has generated widespread criticism. Critics, including student leaders, claim that the government’s new higher education finance scheme leaves out many worthy students.
These students are mostly from middle-class households that find it difficult to pay for college but do not qualify for substantial government support.
The model’s execution has also drawn criticism, with claims of ineffectiveness and insufficient stakeholder consultation.
University students suspend demos on new funding model to mourn Endarasha Tragedy victims.
