Ruto revealed that the previous calling letters contained misleading information on the course costs involved.
President William Ruto on Wednesday, August 14 announced that universities will issue new admission calling letters after the government revoked previously issued letters which led to the nullification of the fee structure.
Speaking during a development tour in Bomachoge Chache in Kisii County, Ruto revealed that the previous calling letters contained misleading information on the course costs involved.
He assured the public that the government would embark on measures to ease the financial burden on parents as they prepare to send their children to higher education institutions.
“The letters that were issued by our universities were misleading because they were talking about the cost of the courses. We want the letters that were released earlier to be withdrawn and proper letters issued as to the amount of money the parent is supposed to pay and not the cost of the course.
President Ruto issues new directives on recalling university admission letters#ViralVideos pic.twitter.com/UUnsxfnjXN
— Viral Tea Ke (@ViralTeaKe) August 14, 2024
“We are going to instruct universities to issue new letters from today that will indicate how much a parent is supposed to pay,” said President Ruto.
The Head of State further highlighted that the previous admission letters sent to students quoted crazy figures in terms of costs for courses, ranging from Ksh200,000 to Ksh300,000, which had caused concern among parents and students.
“I want to assure you that we are giving a new directive today because initially, the letters that our children received had expensive charges for courses ranging from Ksh200,000 to Ksh300,000. All those letters should be revoked, and from today, we will be sending new letters that show the amount of money parents are expected to pay,” Ruto declared.
Ruto emphasised that the government has substantially increased the funds allocated for higher education, boosting the budget from Ksh45 billion to Ksh82 billion.
The increase in funding is so that more financial support gets to students, thus reducing the financial burden on families.
“I want to assure parents that we will make sure that no child in Kenya remains out of higher education because of the ability of their parent. We will make sure every child has an opportunity to acquire higher education knowledge in our universities and TVETs,” he added.
On July 19, the Ministry of Education revoked the fee structure issued by universities to students who had sat for the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations.
The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) had placed the KCSE 2023 Cohort of students in various degree programmes. This information was communicated to the students by respective universities.
According to a statement issued by Education Principal Secretary Beatrice Muganda, the cost of each degree programme as communicated in the calling letters was invalid.
“The Ministry of Education wishes to inform the public, particularly parents/guardians of students, and, students that the fees to be paid by students and their families/guardians as relates to the full cost of each degree programme as previously communicated in the admission letters is hereby nullified, and, does not apply any more,” the statement read in part.
However, the Ministry of Education assured that the placement of students in the respective academic programs remained unchanged, meaning students can be certain that their places in the various academic programs are firmly secured.
Furthermore, all universities were directed that they communicate to each student the new fees to be paid by Monday, August 5.
A collage of public universities in Kenya. /VIRAL TEA KE