HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 202167,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/202167/?format=api",
"text_counter": 102,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Wamunyinyi",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 291,
"legal_name": "Athanas Misiko Wafula Wamunyinyi",
"slug": "athanas-wamunyinyi"
},
"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is a very disturbing scenario within HELB. Some students who are pursuing courses under the parallel degree programme are not supported by HELB. We appreciate the fact that, no student can be admitted unless he or she meets the necessary requirements to join a university for a particular course. But, usually, there is no space to accommodate all the students who qualify to join universities. But there is space for parallel degree programmes. That is something that we do not understand. Students under the parallel degree programme are admitted because they meet the requirements for university education. While at the university, they are not considered for loans by HELB. We want to ensure that when the process will be decentralized, all members of the communities in the respective constituencies who are known to be students at the universities will be supported by HELB by way of giving them loans. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on this note, I also think the university administration should take time and review its admission criteria which is usually based on available space within universities. Now that they are able to admit larger numbers of students for parallel degree programmes, I strongly feel that students who many not necessarily want to stay at the university should be admitted on the basis of just attending college and going back if they can find their own accommodation. They can live in their residences or stay with relatives. I think this should be considered to ensure that as many students as possible are admitted so long as they qualify to join the university. For example, when the 8-4-4 System of Education started, a candidate with a grade of C+ would automatically join a public university, but we have since moved from C+ to B- and then to B+. In fact, this year, there was a proposal that the minimum requirement was going to be A-. The minimum grade for admission to university is C+, but the public universities are admitting students who only attained Grade A- and above. So, you will find that the rest of the students who qualify are not admitted to the public universities. This should be reversed to ensure that all those students who qualified and met the entry mark to the universities be allowed to join them. If accommodation is not available, they should be asked to find their own accommodation. If they are able to find their accommodation, they should be allowed to proceed with their studies. So, it is important that we do so. Obviously, for those who do not have relatives or families near the universities, they should be given money by the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) to hire accommodation to live in and carry on with their studies. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Motion is quite timely. I want to appeal to my colleagues to support it, so that the necessary amendments can be proposed on the Education Act to ensure that our students benefit from the HELB scheme. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also strongly feel that the HELB scheme should, not only apply to university education, but also to middle-level colleges like the Kenya Polytechnic and our national technology colleges that are available. These are the most important institutions in attempts to spur development in this country. Students in these institutions are also very important and also need to be supported. That is, in fact, the most important cadre that we utilise in terms of applicable labour and the people we require to do the works in our various industries and so on. These are those pursuing technical courses at the diploma and higher diploma. Why should they not be considered for these loans also? This applies to the needy cases. As we know, we cannot develop without having these students in middle-level training colleges supported. They are the September 26, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 4163 resource available for our workforce. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to appeal to colleagues to support this Motion. Maybe we may have to push for consideration of those students that are taking courses, not necessarily in university degree programmes. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}