Two university student leaders on Tuesday submitted their
views to the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) taskforce team demanding tightening
of security in the Institutions.
They called for the establishment of a police post in every
university and also sought justice for students who have lost their lives to
police brutality over the years.
“We go back to the IPOA report that has investigated several
police officers and should go through the due process. It’s unfortunate that we
have buried our students who were murdered by this police force and nothing has
been done,” they said.
The students also want the four percent interest rate levied
on loans provided by the Higher Education Loan Board (HELB) to be scrapped.
They also propose that the payment of the HELB loans be made
effective a year after one is employed after graduating.
“Graduates who owe the HELB should be pay the loan
interest-free. It should be a grant given to students therefore it should not
be in any form of loan. A year after completing our studies is when we are
supposed to pay the loans and due to the high rate of unemployment, it becomes
a challenge to us,” they said.
The leaders also opposed the new Election model where
student leaders in universities are elected by delegates.
In November 2019, a video of police officers assaulting a
student from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture (JKUAT) went viral on
social media.
From the video the anti-riot police were seen bludgeoning
and kicking the student at the Juja-based institution.
The JKUAT students were demonstrating over insecurity.