The new system for funding university students is plagued by confusion and yet the institutions are just about to reopen for the new academic year. Students who have tried to file applications to beat the deadline ran into technical hitches, with the system reportedly malfunctioning. It is, therefore, laudable that the authorities have extended the period by a month.
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu pushed the deadline to October 7, after only half of all the eligible students had applied for funding with just a day to go. Besides online services breaking down, seeking the required government documents, including national identity cards, is also tedious, time-consuming and frustrating.
Some 2,000 students cannot get loans because they are below the age of majority, hence the suggestion that they be allowed to use their parents’ IDs. But some have already turned 18, and the bureaucrats should get them issued with IDs so they can apply for the loans.
Funding students in universities and tertiary colleges is the cardinal responsibility of the government to enable the training of the high-level manpower the country needs for economic development. CS Machogu has had to intervene to get universities to admit the students while their fees, bursaries and loans are still being processed. While he insists that all the students will get funding, one wonders why the financial aid has been classified into four categories: The vulnerable, extremely needy, needy and less needy.
Universities are cash-strapped and the government cannot continue to shoulder the huge burden. But the search for a solution, which led to this new system that replaced the automatic Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) funding for all eligible students, is proving difficult to implement.
The processing of the applications is taking too long and could hamper the start of programmes in the universities. The system should be streamlined to ease funding and ensure that no eligible applicant is unfairly locked out.
