4,500 Egerton University students risk been listed with the CRB for fee arrears

Egerton University has threatened to list current and former students with fees balances with the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB).

Through a notice in a local newspaper, the university asked all students to make arrangements to pay the fees arrears by August 31, 2016, failure to which their names would be listed with CRB.

“Egerton University wishes to notify the persons, whose names and registration numbers are listed in the university website, to make necessary arrangements to pay to the university sums indicated against their names on or before 31 August 2016,” read the notice.

“The persons are hereby notified that the university will proceed to adversely list them with the Credit Reference Bureau if the amounts remain outstanding beyond the indicated date.”

According to Finance Officer Moses Ouma, the notice targets over 4,500 students who collectively owe the institution Sh387 million. The students were supposed to have completed their studies by 2011 but did not graduate due to various reasons.

LONG EXPIRED

“We are targeting the students whose duration at the university long expired but who still have fees arrears. These are students who were either expelled or absconded their studies and never graduated,” Mr Ouma said.

Ouma said the university hopes to recover the debt as well as clean up its records.

According to Section 50(1)(a) of the Credit Reference Bureau Regulations (2013), an institution shall notify a customer within a month after a loan becomes non-performing.

Despite the university claiming it was targeting only students who were scheduled to graduate in 2011 and earlier, 1,340 post-graduate students with fees ranging from Sh200 to Sh370,000 have been listed on the website.

Another list contains 583 students under the school-based programmes.

The move has been criticised by some students.

“I was dismayed by the notice. Some of us have struggled to finish our master’s degrees due to lack of supervisors. The administration is not sincere about targeting students who have not finished,” said a post-graduate student.