Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK) in Finland signed a new agreement in a bid to end a stalemate between the institution and Uasin Gishu County that would have resulted in the deportation of Kenyan students.
Speaking to YLE News, a Finland media outlet, the Director of business operations at the University Carita Prokki stated that deal would enable the Kenyan students in the institution to continue with their studies.
According to Prokki, the pact, signed on Friday, March 17, is between the institution and the Finish branch of Max Global Group, which partnered with the University to secure slots for the students.
“The students’ stay in Finland has been secured,” Prokki affirmed.
Prokki noted that the students affected by the dispute were about 100 nursing and physiotherapy students, whose education had been halted because of non-payment of tuition fees.
Cornelius Kiplagat, the Tampere-based CEO of Max Global explained that the new agreement, allowed the parents of the students to pay the tuition fees under more favourable terms and conditions.
“The company has agreed on the payments with the student’s parents in a way that is as transparent as possible,” added Kiplagat.
He added that the expectation in Finland was that the parents pay the fees and not the Uasin Gishu government as perceived.
TAMK stated that the parents had stopped making the payments because they lacked trust in the Uasin Gishu county government adding that they had committed to make payments directly to the institution.
However, such an arrangement was not allowed under Finnish law.
“All commissioned education will in the future be examined to determine whether it’s worth it or not,” Prokki added.
In response to the 50 students who were to begin their studies at Imatra and Lappeenranta in Finland, Terhi Toikkanen, the head of Edusampo, a co-operation with Saimaa Vocational School Sampo, stated that plans had been made with another operator to enable them to begin their studies.
The students were supposed to begin their studies in food and cleaning services but their arrival was cancelled because of the non-payment of tuition fees by Uasin Gishu County.
Earlier in February 2023, TAMK terminated its agreement with Uasin Gishu County risking the deportation of the students because they could no longer stay in Finland after the discontinuation of their education.
Other Finish Universities that had in February 2023 stated that they would terminate their contract with the Uasin Gishu county government were Saimaa Vocational Collage and Laurea University, which had 139 Kenyan students.
In response, Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii Chelilim stated that the parents would be required to pay the remaining fees for the program to continue noting that a task force was carrying out a forensic audit to ascertain the credibility of the reports.
Earlier in May 2021, former Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago partnered with Tampere University, Finland, in a programme where the students were airlifted to live, study, and get guaranteed employment in Finland upon completion of their courses.
