numerous students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds find themselves excluded from government funding and sponsorship due to their underage status.
Many of these students, grappling with unpaid fees and unable to complete semester exams, accuse the government of reneging on its commitment to ensure that no student misses out on financial assistance.
The Cabinet took an unprecedented step in late August, waiving the requirement for a national identity card for underage student scholarship and loan applicants.
This move aimed to make them eligible for allocations from the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB).
Despite this cabinet directive, a significant number of underage university students still await government funding, plunging their academic future into uncertainty.
Concealing their identities for protection, these minor students express their concerns about the bleak prospects they face in continuing their education.
The Cabinet’s decision intended to bypass legal complications associated with contractual agreements with minors seems to have fallen on deaf ears at HELB.
First-year students from Egerton University find themselves in a similar predicament as they are locked out of scholarships meant to aid those from needy families.
These students now call on the government to honor its commitment that no child should be denied higher education funding.
Josh Mwarui from Egerton University shares his plight, “Others got something from the hostel, but I got nothing.
I had to borrow to at least get something.
Considering the situation at home, my parent cannot afford this hefty fee.”
“We want the government to provide the necessary amount so that we can proceed with our studies,” adds Josh Mwarui.
HELB CEO Charles Ringera, denying allegations of penalizing learners for their age, stated in an interview with Citizen TV, “The board has successfully allocated funding to over 26,000 underage first-year students, with a few challenges where the bank details provided by students do not match those of their guardians and parents.
The board is addressing this by advising learners to open mobile money accounts for easy disbursement.”
Approximately 2,000 candidates enrolled in higher institutions, seeking loans and scholarships, lack national identity cards as they are yet to turn eighteen.
Faced with this hurdle, affected students contemplate deferring their studies until they reach the age of 18.
They question how the government deemed them eligible for scholarships in high school but not at the university level.
Hundreds Of Students Missing Out On Gov’t Funding Over Lack Of IDs, Hundreds Of Students Missing Out On Gov’t Funding Over Lack Of IDs
