Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino has criticized the government’s olive branch to urge university students’ leadership to call off planned demonstrations that were to take place on the 9th of September 2024.
Through his X account, the Embakasi East lawmaker has urged university students to proceed with the planned demonstrations and ignore the proposed committee to review the funding model.
“These are delaying tactics. Demonstrations should go on as planned. We do not need another committee to review the New Funding Model. We want the old funding model back,” he said.
The legislator instead urged the Education Cs to publish another letter disbanding the bands.
His sentiments came after Cabinet Secretary of Education Julius Ogamba issued a statement urging students to call off the planned demonstrations against the New University Funding model since the government has established a committee to review the model.
Also Read: Govt Issues Fresh Directive Over University Funding Model
Funding Model Committee
According to the Ministry of Education, the committees will constitute student leaders of various universities and experts and stakeholders.
“The primary task of the Working Committees will be to review the status of implementation of the New Funding Model and make recommendations for improvement,” part of the statement read.
Furthermore, the committee is expected to delve into a range of issues, including appraisal of the implementation of the New Funding Model for Higher Education.
Also, they will evaluate the effectiveness of the Means Testing Instrument in ensuring that the categorization of students captures their socio-economic realities.
Also Read: Universities Announce Protests Against New Funding Model Dubbed Tisatisa
University planned demonstrations
Various universities across the country had announced plans to hold peaceful demonstrations against the University New Funding Model (NFM) on Monday, September 9 dubbed Tisatisa.
The planned demonstrations were attributed to the wrong placement of needy students into loan bands four and five, which are designated for families with higher incomes.
Among the university students’ unions that were expected to join the demonstrations were the University of Nairobi, Murang’a University, Moi University, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Mount Kenya University (MKU), and Egerton University.
Others included Kibabii University, Maseno University, Technical University of Mombasa (TUM), Pwani University, Kenya Methodist University, and the Technical University of Kenya.
However, student leaders across the country on Sunday, September 9, announced the cancellation of the protests, issuing the government with a 30-day notice to address their concerns.
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