Life as a penniless paper-chaser

College students share the frustrations of living without financial help from parents — who believe their bright children still get ‘boom’ from the government the way they used to in the 1980s 

It allegedly started with a suicide note by a Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) student, who wanted to take his own life because he lacked basic needs in school. The author, Jared, complained of leading a pauper’s life in university where family and friends had abandoned him. Kakamega Police took the letter that was widely circulated on social media earlier this month for investigation.

“It is with deep sorrow that I have decided to do what I want to do. It has been long struggling tirelessly with no help from people. Since I joined this institution, no one has seen the importance of helping me,” read the letter in part.

“I have now seen it important to commit suicide and leave you in peace. I know such a decision will be of pain to people but all in all, don’t worry because you never cared about me,” the note read, before detailing his long struggle in university where he slept on an empty stomach for days without help from family and friends who ignored his calls.

The letter sparked a heated conversation that saw university students open up about the frustrations of being neglected by their guardians the moment they enrolled for studies in school.

“That suicide letter from the MMUST comrade, I totally relate!” one Hillary Omuono wrote in an online post.

According to the Maseno University student, friends, family and relatives only get excited when they receive the notice that one is joining university and the day they graduate.

“They will make the possible sacrifices to make it to the graduation square to celebrate with you. Through the four years in the boundaries of the university, however, no one cares what you are going through! Your calls are a bother. During these four years or so, you are a burden and no one is ready to welcome you,” ranted the Education student in the post that attracted varied reaction from his followers.

“Honestly, as a victim, I can tell you that it’s not easy in here. It is not uncommon for the faint-hearted to give up and opt for easy ways out including suicide,” he said.

Such has been the life of Leah Cheptoo, a second-year student at Pwani University pursuing Biochemistry. Leah, an orphan, spends a huge chunk of the Sh15,000 she gets from Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) to educate her two younger siblings. She sends home Sh10,000 to cater for her siblings’ school fees. The remaining Sh5,000 is never enough to cater for her rent outside school and food thoughout the semester.

“I use nearly all my Helb money on my siblings who I fend for since our parents died. It is tough as I am forced to fetch water for neighbours to sail through the semester,” says Leah.

Leah pays Sh2,000 to rent a single room at Misusini, an informal settlement located near the university in Kilifi. Things were easier for her when she shared the room with a classmate who unfortunately moved out, forcing her to shoulder the rent on her own.

Pwani University Dean of Students, Ronald Juma, says the university can only accommodate 10 per cent of all students. The rest, he says, are forced to seek accommodation outside the university and end up living in deplorable conditions. Students, according to Ronald, do the unthinkable to survive harsh financial constraints.

“I have handled three cases of students who were found sleeping in the university’s entertainment hall. When I questioned them, they opened up that they didn’t have a place to sleep,” says Juma.

Philip Ogolla has been forced to defer studies for two years at the University of Nairobi when he could not take the suffering anymore. He first shied off from joining his dream university when he received an admission letter in 2015.

“I applied to defer even before I joined the university because we didn’t have any money at home. Fortunately, a well-wisher offered Sh30,000 that enabled me to start studying,” says Ogolla.

However, halfway into his first year in school, the political science student who used to walk from Nairobi’s Kawangware slum to town to attend class dropped out of school when he could no longer raise rent.

Now back in school where he should be a final year school had his studies not been interrupted, the second year student is thinking of halting his studies once more.

“I have never been able to access or print out revision materials for the exams scheduled for later this month. My phone cannot access the Internet. I can’t do exams this way,” he says and expresses fear of failing an exam he says he hasn’t prepared for. He is a top performing student who hopes to secure the university’s scholarship when he graduates.

Kenya Universities Deans of Students Association (Kudsa) chairman Mohamed Abdullahi Aden, (also Maasai Mara University Dean of Students) says some of the financial challenges that university students go through are self-inflicted.

“I’ve seen students who lost all their Helb money through betting and are afraid of going back to their parents to ask for more. They are then forced to struggle through the whole semester,” says Aden.

However, other students use their Helb money to support their financially unstable families and are left with nothing in school, according to the deans’ chair.

He says the university helps the students cope by training them on financial literacy and availing work-study programmes to very needy students. Additionally, some 19 students at Maasai Mara University who cannot afford to buy meals are on the university’s feeding programme where all their meals have been paid for.

Mr Juma blames increasing cases of ‘sponsors’ in universities on financial challenges that students go through.

“A hungry, homeless and desperate student can do anything to survive in the university,” he says.

Kenya Parents Association chairman Nicholas Maiyo blames parents who neglect their children thinking they are adults when they join university.

“There are parents who think parenting ends when the children finish high school and get government admission to university. This should never be the case. Children should be supported until they graduate from college and are in employment,” says Maiyo.

He urges parents and guardians to support their children equally, saying male children are the most affected when they go to university.

“A female student is more likely to get financial help from home. As parents, we tend to think that girls are most vulnerable when they are broke. But out there, all our children are equally vulnerable,” he says.

Working with Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), the parents association has produced a manual that will be used to train parents on best care-giving techniques for their children.

Dubbed ‘Parental Empowerment and Engagement Manual’, the curriculum for parents, which will be launched next month, will be offered during academic clinics and during school meetings with parents.

The Pwani University Dean of Students divulges the struggle of explaining to parents that they need to support their children in school.

“We have very naïve parents who still think that their children get 100 per cent government support when they qualify for direct entry in university. They fail to understand that this is a thing of the past and that the government can barely pay a student’s school fees, let alone pay for their accommodation and meals,” says Mr Juma.

Prof John Habwe, an Associate Professor at the University of Nairobi who first graduated at the university in 1987 says going to school was cheaper then.

“I had a whole room to myself when I went to the University of Nairobi many years ago. I was surprised when I visited my son in the hostels some four years ago to find four beds in one tiny room,” says Prof Habwe.

Though Habwe does not recall the exact amount students received back them, he says the amount was enough for one to buy several suits and even to pay for flights. Then, the students did not pay school fees.

The UoN don suggests that government reduces the number of students joining university to fully cater for few bright students through Helb.

According to Helb boss Charles Ringera, the government subsidises university education of direct entry students by 70 per cent. Students unable to raise the remaining 30 per cent apply for the Helb loan. Mr Ringera says it is impossible for a student to survive on the loan alone.

“Studies have shown that the loan, even for students awarded the full loan amount, currently Sh60,000 every academic year, is inadequate and they may be required to mobilise additional funds from other sources to be able to comfortably study in institutions of higher learning,” says Mr Ringera.

He says the possibility of increasing loans awarded to students is a factor of loan recoveries and amount allocated to the board by National Treasury. The Helb boss urges guardians to facilitate their children’s stay in university by providing them with food, accommodation and other essential requirements.

Why government students struggle financially

A majority of government-sponsored students coming from financially unstable families are likely to send their Helb money home to support their families.

Unhealthy relationships between university students and gullible first years: Male students waste their Helb and pocket money in unstable relationships with their female counterparts. Additionally, gullible first year male students are cheated into spending their money on continuing female students who milk them dry before leaving them.

Rent demands: Few guardians follow up with their students to know whether they have accommodation inside the university. Today, no single university can afford to accommodate all its students. This forces a majority of students to seek accommodation outside school where they pay unsubsidised rent every month.

Unbudgeted-for course demands: Student life is not just about paying school fees, accommodation and meals. Students spend a significant amount of money every day printing out documents, typesetting coursework, and photocopying notes. Most guardians never plan for such expenses.

Lack of financial knowledge: A majority of government-sponsored students handle huge amounts of cash for first time when they go to university. These students are likely to waste away the Helb money on expensive smartphones and other unnecessary things. Students are increasingly losing money through betting.

There are also cases of guardians who take students’ loans to start businesses and never pay them back.

To help our students, universities need to strengthen the office of career services, counselling departments and to continuously provide financial literacy skills to help students manage the money they get from Helb.  

hashtag@standardmedia.co.ke