Joseph Thige, a Ph.D. candidate in the school of management science & Engineering at Jiangsu University in Zhenjiang, China, blew the lid on the state of Kenyan students still left behind in the university.
Speaking in a video posted on his Facebook profile, he appealed to Kenyans to make contributions in terms of masks and hand sanitizers to help students who are facing a massive shortage of items, including bread and milk, due to a lockdown occasioned by the coronavirus outbreak.
"We have been able to meet some of the students needs when I was in China but there are other needs that students cannot meet. You can imagine that students are recycling masks, and it is not healthy to do that," he stated.
Thige added that some of them are finding it hard to come back to the country due to a number of factors beyond their control.
"You realize that students are on academic calendars. Some postgraduate students are first years, second years, and third-years. Some undergraduates are in their fourth years and fifth years. There are those who are doing their internships at the moment," he stated.
He added that in the case of postgraduate students, there are some who are in a position to gather data online, while others pursuing physical sciences find it hard given that they need access to the labs in China to process data.
Thige also intimated that apart from the rigorous academic calendars, there was also the aspect of finances that becomes a hinderance for students to leave at the moment even if they desired to.
"There are different categories of students in China based on their financial muscle. We have students who are self sponsored and it becomes harder for them to even put food on the table particularly if they come from poor families.
"Most students in China come from this category. Students who are under Chinese government scholarships are already home, not unless they are doing experiments that require them to be in China right now," he stated.
He added that in the case of his university, there were four students who are due to graduate in June 2020, and it defeated sense for them to board the plane and leave at the moment.
In the video, Thige indicated that students who could not leave China immediately found it much better to be in the learning institutions during the lockdown due to the safety measures taken there.
"In my university, there are eight police officers at the main gate and a standby ambulance. When you are going shopping, there is a protective environment that before you go through, you will have to show your ID card before you are allowed to shop," he cited.
Thige also teaches the Cambridge based International English Learning & Testing System (IELTS) In the Jiangsu university language center
Below is the Video...
