Just a week after Education cabinet secretary Amina Mohamed issued a statement that the government would hunt down HELB defaulters using law enforcement agencies, she is back again supporting hike university fees for the government sponsored students.
Student leaders from various public universities across the country have threatened to call for mass protests against the proposed tuition fees hike.
Addressing the press outside Nairobi’s Anniversary Towers on Monday, February 25, the students said they would also be pushing for the resignation of the Education CS Mohamed whom they accused of making terrible decisions.
“As from Monday (March 4, 2019), we will be on the streets. We will also be piling pressure on Education CS Amina Mohamed until she resigns because of her bad decisions,” declared University of Nairobi (UoN) students’ leader Makori Orina.
The fury against Mohamed escalated when the CS threw her weight behind the proposal by the vice chancellors of public universities to hike university fees for the government sponsored students.
While defending her decision to support of the proposed fee hike, the CS argued the increment would help in easing financial burden for the public universities which are said to be grappling with acute shortage of funds needed to facilitate smooth operations.
“A fee increase would help in addressing some of the challenges the universities are currently grappling with. There are ongoing consultations and the fees increase is one of the solutions suggested. But universities must also look for long-term measures to mitigate their financial difficulties,” she said.
The VCs had proposed annual tuition fees for government sponsored students be increased from the current KSh 16,00 to KSh 48,000 per student.