Photos: Semafor Africa\YouTube Screenshots
Higher university fees in Kenya threaten to reignite youth-led protests against the government.
Critics say poorer students will miss out on higher education.
The new model, called the University Fund, moves more costs to students through higher fees while reducing government funding and scholarships. It is being rolled out ahead of the new academic year. The plan will place students in different categories depending on their family income, the size of their family, and the number of children in school.
President William Ruto “should stop killing the education system in this country by making it a preserve of the rich,” said Paul Ongili, a lawmaker from the opposition Orange Democratic Movement party, adding that the new system “discriminates against students from poor families.”
Student leaders and lawmakers have called for demonstrations if the changes go ahead. More than 60 people died during demonstrations in recent weeks. Similar unrest could scupper another policy aimed at tackling the country’s deepening economic crisis. Other recent demonstrations forced the government to scrap tax rises.
Ruto has argued that it does not punish poorer students. “We are increasing scholarship and loans for students from vulnerable families from 80% to 95%,” he said in a speech this month.
— Vivianne Wandera in Nairobi
Nearly 50,000 Kenyans didn’t apply for university due to the cost. →
