Policy strategist Arnold Maliba has stated that Kenya cannot afford to pay University fees for all students in Kenya.
In a riveting interview on TV47’s Power And Politics, Maliba shared that Kenya footing the bill for all university students did not make sense.
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According to Maliba, Kenya has limited resources and thus has to ensure that said resources are best utilized.
Maliba shared with TV47’s George Maringa that there was a need to devise a method by which the government could support needy students best.
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“We are using the resources we have and we must come up with a tool to ensure that we spread this thing as equitably as possible,” stated Maliba.
Additionally, Maliba pointed out that access to resources is not evenly distributed among Kenyan citizens.
“When it comes to resources and access to resources, we can never say we are all the same,” Maliba stated.
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Maliba on University funding model
In response to Maringa’s question, Maliba shared that it would be unfair to treat children with different backgrounds the same.
“It would be unfair that a child from Lavington and a child from a village somewhere who has actually gone to school on bursary are treated equally.”
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According to Arnold, it did not make sense to treat a child from a well-off neighborhood like Lavington in Nairobi the same as a child from a remote village.
In his view, the university funding model did not need to be equal for all the applicants rather it needed to be equitable.
However, he was not shy from admitting that, it would have been ideal to give everyone an equal chance at a quality education.
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Not all cases deserve assistance
According to Arnold, some applicants applied for assistance when they did not deserve it.
Additionally, he called out parents who send their children to private schools and all through and suddenly become needy when they get to higher education.
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“There is this problem in this country that, you will find people who pay for private school all through, as much as Ksh 500K a year, but when they get to University, all of a sudden they become poor,” stated Maliba.
According to Arnold, such cases cannot be compared to those cases where a child went through school on a bursary.
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