Student leaders in various universities across the country have canceled plans to hold peaceful demonstrations against the New Funding Model (NFM) scheduled for Monday September 9 dubbed Tisatisa.
In a statement on Sunday, September 9, the student leaders disclosed that they decided to suspend their demonstrations after receiving intelligence reports indicating that the protests had been infiltrated by hired goons and security forces.
“We have checked on the purported infiltration of police (sic) in the planned protest for tomorrow. For the safety and security of our comrades, we believe demonstrations are not the best option at this point,” said Zadock Okoth, student leader, Kenyatta University.
They further issued a 30-day notice to the government to address their concerns, or they will be forced to resume the protests.
“We are giving the government 30 days to act, or we will be forced to resume our protests. Bands 4 and 5 should be scrapped entirely. They place unnecessary financial pressure on students who are already struggling to make ends meet,” said UoN Secretary General Ramesh Saxena.
While the model itself is deemed acceptable, the placement process has been criticized for incorrectly categorizing needy students into loan bands four and five, which is designated for families with higher incomes.
Among the university students’ unions that had issued the demonstration notices was the University of Nairobi (UoN) Moi University, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).
Kenyatta University, Mount Kenya University (MKU), Murang’a University, Maseno University, Kibabii University, and Egerton University.
Education CS Forms Two Working Committee
The postponement came shortly after Education CS Julius Ogamba announced that the Ministry has formed two Working Committees to review and improve the New Funding Model for Higher Education.
The CS further asked the university student leadership to call off the demonstrations scheduled for 9th September 2024 in order to allow room for the open consultative process.
Also Read: Indicators Govt Used to Categorize Students in Bands & What to Consider When Appealing
According to the ministry, the committees will constitute student leaders of various universities and various 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.
The committee is expected to cover various areas in their discussions 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.
Universities Announce Demonstrations
The students argue that their collective voices of “Reject New Funding Model” have been ignored and that their pleas were dismissed even after several attempts at dialogue to solve this crisis.
“On Monday, 9th September 2024, we, the people, shall be marching together to demand that our voice be heard! We shall hit the streets with a force that cannot be ignored, once again to scream to the deaf ears that we reject the new University Funding Model,” Moi University students said.
“Consequently, we stand in solidarity with comrades from other institutions of higher learning and universities of similar stature in the upcoming demonstration scheduled for Monday, September 9, 2024, dubbed as #TISATISA,” reads MKU statement in part.
Furthermore, the students contend that the New Funding Model aims to segregate comrades based on family background, promote economic slavery through exorbitant student loans, and make higher education unaffordable.
Also Read: HELB Outlines Process of Appealing for Scholarship Category Change
Their Demands on NFM
Some of the students want the government to reduce the bands to three rather than five to ensure students are well supported and a reconsideration of the indicators in the Means Testing Instrument (MTI).
Additionally, they are asking the government to carry out proper mass education on the new funding model.
At the same time, the students want the optimal course of action to involve rationalizing student fees and ensuring that students can pursue their academic programs based on merit, as was the case before the introduction of the NFM.
The New Funding Model, launched on May 3, 2023, by President William Ruto, has faced criticism from various stakeholders, particularly concerning the placement of bands among students assigned to loan bands four and five.
This funding framework replaced the Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) previously used to finance universities.
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