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{
    "id": 128892,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/128892/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 267,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Musila",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister of State for Defence",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 94,
        "legal_name": "David Musila",
        "slug": "david-musila"
    },
    "content": " Thank you Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving this opportunity. I stand here to support the amendment. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have always been an admirer of the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) because of the good work it has been doing in assisting students complete their university education. Recently, the HELB has gone to the extent of extending this facility to students in private universities. This is welcome. This motion seeks to get these loans further down to colleges. This is supported because at the moment the only bursaries that are available now are those from the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF). Everybody seems to think that the CDF has monies that cannot be exhausted. Therefore, I think it is high time the HELB came down to providing loans to colleges. These institutions are equally important. Before I move to that, I want to also put a case for the amount of money that the HELB is advancing to students. It is not just important to say that they are extending loans to college and private university students but at the same time continue reducing the amounts that they advance. I would like this extension to private universities and colleges to be enhanced by increased amounts. At the moment, the HELB gives up to Kshs35,000 per year for university education. This is too small an amount to expect a student to cover most of the important expenses at the university. Therefore, I would like first of all, to urge the HELB administration to increase the amount that is advanced to students. At the moment, a maximum of Kshs50,000 is given and sometimes a minimum of Kshs35, 000. I think this should be doubled to Kshs100, 000 per student. This is because university education is very expensive. It would be meaningless if this is not done. I believe Dr. Eseli agrees with me. It would be meaningless to say that we are extending loans to students in private colleges and universities or lower colleges and reduce the amount. It would not make any sense at all. Therefore, I want the HELB administration to seek more funds to increase the funding so that the monies advanced to students is increased accordingly. Now, where does this money come from? I know that there are many students studying overseas who get Government funding. Some of this money is given to students who are not even in school. I know this because during the Eighth Parliament, we went to visit certain embassies to investigate how the money that is sent by the Ministry of Education to students who study overseas is given out. We were shocked. For example, in Germany, we found monies collected by students who are even married there and are not studying. They probably went to study five years or ten years ago. The money still keeps on going to them. There is no proper administration of these funds by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we made certain recommendations that every year, for a student receiving funding from the Government, there must be a letter from the academic registrar to confirm and certify that the student is in school. Even as I speak, I know there are students overseas who are not studying but are receiving Government funds. Therefore, these are monies that can be channeled to the HELB instead of being kept in Jogoo House to favour students of certain well to do families."
}