UNSA President Faults Scrapping HELB

University of Nairobi Student Association President Melvin Thogo has faulted the Government for scrapping HELB.

In a news Interview with The Times Digital Melvine termed the drastic move as irrational and ill timed.

“Millions of students still depend on HELB to be able to achieve education. HELB is needed for very legitimate reasons and this has been so much so since the Capitation for universities was cut. This therefore means that University Education is not going to be affordable anymore. Take a case in point that some parents from very humble backgrounds cannot see their children through high school, what will happen now that their only lifeline is cut?” Melvine quipped.

Melvine at the same time said that such a move will also jeopardize University enrolment.

“We shall expect a huge drop in enrolment in institutions of higher learning because university education is still way expensive for a majority of Kenyans. In fact we expected the government to consider these students from very disadvantaged areas and especially the ASALs.

“I expected the working party to come up with practical reforms. We have in the recent past striked due to delays in disbursement of HELB… What will happen now that it has been dissolved altogether. This is not fair and it even jeopardises our female students stay in the varsities because they will be taken advantage of,”

Melvine’s parting shot is that this is an injustice to Kenyans at large and that it should be relooked into. The Government ought to take education seriously and in fact money such a s the Hustler Fund money that is being dished out left right and centre could have been phenomenal in boosting high education instead of reversing the already hard-earned gains.