Tax returns impact HELB loans.
Tax returns impact HELB loans.
Geoffrey Monari, Chief Executive Officer of the Universities Fund, has stated that the government will rely on data from other State organizations to qualify students for scholarships and loans.
During an interview on Wednesday, Monari stated that the allocation of funding to each student. As well as their classification, will be based on essential parameters such as tax data, health insurance, and retirement payments.
He stressed that the decision-making process will rely significantly on data from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to appropriately measure family incomes. “For example, paying Ksh1,700 for NHIF means you are in a certain income bracket, or if we go to KRA and look at your returns, it means you are in a certain income bracket,” Monari explained.
While data will be important in calculating income groups for homes, Monari emphasized that making an educated conclusion will necessitate a thorough analysis of the information presented in applications. The applications will include information about the pupils’ histories and family income, among other things.
Some academics have expressed concern about the new funding model’s potential effects. They claim that, given the current economic climate, schooling could become prohibitively expensive for many families. Furthermore,concerns have been expressed concerning how the government will assess applicants’ vulnerabilities. Especially, given that a considerable majority of Kenyans work in the informal sector.
“The new model of funding higher education is a backdoor way to end education subsidies, just as I predicted,” economist Ephraim Njenga said.
They will now be classified as capable .Consequently, obligated to pay full university fees of more than Ksh250,000 per year.
” Even with a decent wage, if you have two students at the university, you will struggle. Only the very wealthy would be spared.”
Critics of the new system have chastised the administration for rushing to adopt the changes . Lacking sufficient public engagement and for experimenting without contemplating the ramifications. “Every rational Kenyan should oppose the experiments taking place in our education sector.” “It makes no difference whether you can afford the shenanigans or not,” Njenga cautioned.
