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{
    "id": 1278927,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1278927/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 328,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Taveta, WDM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. John Bwire",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. Every time I hear my colleges debate on this matter, like them, I get more confused. I have listened to the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Education and Research. There is one thing that has not come out clearly. The previous model of HELB had a two-tier categorisation that was used to finance university education. There was a loan component and a bursary component. The first categorisation was merit. As long as you are selected to join university under the Joint Admissions Board of Kenya (JAB), you would get an allocation by way of Government subsidy. The second categorisation was need-based. The challenge with this model is that it has only used this angle. The previous model had a lot of checks and balances. The Chairperson, Departmental Committee on Education and Research has said that it was an automated hybrid system. You filled a form online and were required to take it to your chief and pastor to assess whether you are truly a needy student. I practice in Mombasa, where there are cybercafes with people who assist university students to apply for HELB loans. They have mastered the art of applying for HELB loans. They have garnered enough knowledge to ensure that even if you are not needy, they categorise you as extremely needy at a fee. Those checks and balances are missing. The previous system ensured only needy students benefitted. Even if there was a marginal error, it was plus or minus five. The current system has completely failed. I come from a constituency where there is no fibre optic. I forced myself to put an application centre in my office. Children come there all the way from Njukini and Marodo. The cost of a boda boda ride from Njukini to Taveta Town is almost Ksh600, which many parents cannot afford. Hon. Temporary Speaker, we both understand that every change of system has a transition clause. The problem is that we allowed some professors to come up with a good idea but they do not have first-hand experience of the challenges that Members of Parliament face. I wish they called us for a stakeholder’s engagement. We would have told them about the challenges we are facing with the system. The Cabinet Secretary for Education should come to explain to us and the public how they will implement the financing model in the midst of the many challenges that my colleagues have mentioned, like time and resources. With those remarks, I support the Motion."
}