Githunguri Member of Parliament, Gathoni Wamuchomba, has criticised the Kenya Kwanza government for delaying HELB disbursements and mishandling the education sector after receiving distressing calls from students from universities.
In a statement on Wednesday, May 14, she shared an example of students from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology(JKUAT) who called her office after being denied access to exam rooms.
"The Kenya Kwanza government has failed to safeguard the future of Kenya's youthful population. Messing up education is a clear indication of a failed governance system," Wamuchomba stated.
"The delays in remitting capitation and HELB indicate all is not well, yet the CS for Education and the ministry keep giving false hopes even in Parliament," she added.
She explained that the student was blocked from sitting for their exams because they had not received their Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) funds on time.
She also mentioned a similar issue at Mount Kenya University, where students faced difficulties due to HELB's failure to release funds on time.
Wamuchomba said that these students had already paid their part of the school fees, but HELB had not sent the remaining amount as promised earlier in the year. Her intervention helped the students resume their exams.
"According to many, they had cleared their household part of school fees, but they were forced to find the HELB unpaid, yet they were assured that HELB was to clear their part of the bargain early this year," she explained.
Wamuchomba questioned how the government expects parents to pay school fees when many of them work for the same government that sometimes delays their salaries.
"If the government is unable to pay fees on their part, how do they expect parents to pay? Yet some of them depend on or work in the same government, which is not even paying their salaries on time?" she asked.
Her remarks come amid widespread student protests in the past months over delayed HELB disbursements. Many students say the delays are putting them at risk of missing exams and increasing their financial struggles.
She urged President William Ruto to show commitment to securing university education and making it affordable for all students.
