Students want scrapping of HELB loans be part of BBI

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.