Parents cry foul over Finland scholarship misinformation in Uasin Gishu

The fate of over 200 students from Uasin Gishu County who traveled to Finland to pursue their education in various universities remains in limbo.

A number of the students are said to have already been deported back to Kenya while some have received notice of deportation for the failure of paying school fees.

The question of whether the overseas education program was a scholarship from the Uasin Gishu County government remains with the county calling on parents to expedite the payment of the school fees to secure their children.

Between September 2021 and September 2022, some 202 students traveled to Finland to join various universities under a partnership that is said to have been signed between the county government of Uasin Gishu and the Finnish government, a deal that has since attracted criticism, especially after reports emerged that the students were being deported back to the country for failure to pay school fees

 “There are five students who arrived yesterday from Finland and when I interrogated further I was given the person who received those children,” Reuben Koech, a petitioner in the Finland saga said.

Kimutai Kirui, a Human Rights activist added: “This is an issue that has not hinged on any policy they used the logo of the county government… it was a private entity camouflaged as a county program which is criminal because it is like lying to parents.”

Tampere University of Applied Sciences has already terminated its cooperation agreement with Uasin Gishu and Elgeiyo Marakwet counties on the 1st of March due to unpaid tuition and accommodation fees. 

In a letter obtained by Citizen Television dated 7th March 2023, the university is asking the students to liaise with their parents to ensure that their tuition and accommodation fees are paid by 31st of March 2023 with no possibility of an extension failure to which the university threatens to terminate teaching.

“In laurel university particularly they have suspended the training for March to enable fees to be paid such that the second semester will start second of April so I want to urge parents as the chairman of the Taskforce that the obligation of paying fees is yours there is no way around it,” Uasin Gishu Deputy Governor John Barorot said.

A responsibility that comes amidst a back and forth is whether this was a scholarship or not.

“We clearly explained to all the universities that this is not a scholarship that the county is only a guarantee and we were clear that it is the parents that will pay and we were forthright about it from the onset,” he added.

Kimutai however disagreed saying: “It was a scholarship…They were told it was a scholarship, they are told that mandate has signed the agreement so the time most of these parents realized it was not a scholarship it was when they were already in. So it was a matter of you either pay for your children so it was like throwing the parents under the bus.”

Documents obtained by Citizen Television detail questionable withdrawals running into millions of shillings from the Uasin Gishu Overseas Education Trust Account which was set up to receive funds from parents to finance school fees for their children. 

"There was money about Ksh.400,000 which was withdrawn to hire tents and chairs when these students were to be talked to, one wonders why the county or the universities involved couldn’t pay for this expense why use school fees paid by parents for this," Kimutai added.

According to the county, a total of 384 students were included in the program with another batch of 104 having completed their online and pathway studies and ready to travel while 78 are awaiting Visa approvals.

Those who are yet to travel want investigations done promptly. “We are asking for further scrutiny because these are projects that will be replicated elsewhere like in Elgeiyo market,” an applicant said.

Another student added: “This program was started with the aim of giving the youth a better future we want to go outside and gain the exercise that will influence our society positively.”

A report by an ad hoc committee of the Uasin Gishu County Assembly which was tasked to investigate the matter recommended the investigation of three county officials namely Joseph Maritim, Joel Ruto and Meshak Rono.

The committee also wants the County Attorney Stephen Lei to step aside pending investigation.