Students forced to study under makeshift tents in Eldoret Polytechnic

Parliamentary Committee on Education Chair Julius Melly addresses the press at the Moi University in Eldoret where the committee stated that they would push for the government to allocate the university Sh 400 Million for the completion of a Science block that had stalled for over 30 years. To his left is committee member Zaddock Ogutu. 21-05-2019. [Kevin Tunoi]

More than 3,000 students at the Eldoret Polytechnic have been forced to study in tents and makeshift lecture halls due to ballooning learner population.

The National Assembly committee on education have pointed out the serious challenge of classroom shortages at Eldoret National Polytechnic following a two-day tour of institutions in the North Rift this week.

The problem has prompted the institution to lease tents and construct temporary structures where more than 3,000 learners take their tuition. Student leaders have complained that the current rainy season is exposing them to harsh conditions. At Moi University, a science complex started in the 1990s stalled only after its foundation and pillars had been erected. The four-storey building was to house science laboratories but is now a permanent reminder of wastage of public funds.

The committee asked the National Treasury to allocate Sh400 million for the university to complete the complex and another Sh200 million for expansion of lecture halls at Eldoret Polytechnic.

Committee chairman, Tinderet MP Julius Melly, said the rise in student enrollment, under-funding from the National Treasury remains a major challenge that is demoralising lecturers and learners. “There is need for the government to come in handy and fund universities with adequate resources or else they will collapse. We cannot pride ourselves that we have university education yet these institutions are in a dilapidated state,” said Melly.

“The science complex required Sh4 billion to be completed. We will press for Sh 400 million in the coming financial year to commence construction work in phases.”

The committee also raised concern over the safety of students, saying there is need for appropriate measures to curb killings witnessed in some institutions in the recent past.