Students from Kabete National Polytechnic have taken to the streets today in protest against increased tuition fees among other issues.
The majority of the students marched towards the institutions main offices and forcefully evicted the principal, Patrick Muchemi from office and vandalized the premises, with some of the students torching banners and documents that were inside the principal’s office.
The demonstrations are in response to the hiking of examination fees which is beside the normal tuition fee. Other grievances include the change of dressing code with many of the students terming it “too strict”.
A section of the protesting students further burnt tires outside of the school while others used rocks to block the normally busy Waiyaki way.
Police officers from the nearby Kabete police station were called upon to diffuse the situation but not before the protesting students’ voices were heard.
“A new curriculum student has to pay an examination fee of Ksh.2000 for every practical unit and Ksh.1500 for every theory unit and to make it worse we are enraged because most of the students didn’t receive capitation money” Alexis Odongo, a second year student at Kabete says.
The students want the examination fees scrapped as they are a heavy burden to their parents.
The protests come even as as the country is implementing a new university fees model called the “University Fund” which will see students pay higher fees while reducing government funding and scholarships.
The model is being rolled out ahead of the new academic year and will place students in different categories depending on their family income, the size of their family, and the number of children in school.
This new fee structure has not been witnessed since 1991 when the Government ended free University education and introduced the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) to provide financial support to the poorest students.
With the volatile situation surrounding the country’s institutions it remains to be seen whether the new model will be embraced by students and parents alike.
By Xavier Brian
