Parents demand a refund of fees in aborted overseas academic programme

Uasin Gishu

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

KNA by Ekuwam Sylvester

Uasin Gishu parents whose children failed to secure admission in European universities following an abortive academic programme sponsored by the county government have demanded a refund of money they contributed.

They accused county officials of failing to clearly inform them how the programme was to run and added there were no proper communication channels between the parents and the overseas programme taskforce on the progress of the programme. They claimed the airlift programme lacked transparency.

Last week when grilled by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago, who was governor by then claimed that the money paid by the parents whose children have not yet gone overseas was used to pay for the students who were already in universities in Finland and who were at risk of deportation due to delays in settling the subsequent semester fees.

Mandago, Governor Jonathan Chelilim and deputy governor Eng John Barorot on Thursday last week met with parents whose children are already enrolled overseas and asked parents with arrears and whose children have been sponsored yet they did not make any contribution, to move with speed to pay the fees to ensure smooth running of the programme.

The parents who spoke on Monday during a meeting convened with the county leadership led by governor Chelilim, his deputy, the senator and other county officials, expressed dissatisfaction with the programme as they insisted on getting a refund of their money.

Led by Kiplimo Melly, the parents claimed that the county administration did not seek their consent to use their money to pay for the continuing students who had not yet cleared their fees.

Edward Kiptek urged the county government to refund them their money adding that all shall be well and that there shall be no more wrangles between them and the county leadership if they are refunded their money in full.

On her part, Emily Serem, one of the parents whose child did not make it to the overseas universities after paying the fees, regretted aborting her first decision to take her child to Finland through an agent only to get bogged down in a jam after she opted for the overseas education programme by the county.

“I am a single parent, I sold two pieces of land and held funds drives to raise the school fees but my child has not gone to study yet, what shall I do, please refund us our money,” she exclaimed.

At the same time Penina Chesire, a retired county employee and a parent whose child was to join Laurea University of Applied Sciences in Finland, expressed disappointment after she utilized all her retirement benefits to pay for her child’s school fees leaving her with nothing. She however demands a refund to help her support her family and child’s education.

Uasin Gishu senator who was the county boss when the programme was initiated admitted that he shall be responsible for his errors of commission or omission since he was the one who conceptualised and operationalised the overseas academic programme during his tenure as the governor of Uasin Gishu.

He requested parents to allow the county leadership one week to get back to them with proper feedback on the concrete steps they have taken towards their refund.

“We want to request you with due respect, we are committed, we have not said we are going to wait for the payment of other parents but we are saying even as we are working out on how to refund you, we must hold them to account,” said Mandago.

“I will be responsible for my errors of omission and commission, allow us even on this overpayment we made to the overseas universities, allow us to engage them, whatever outcome we know there is only one common denominator that there must a be a refund so kindly give us some time, we understand the difficulties parents have undergone to raise this money,” he added.

Governor Chelilim urged parents to allow them time to analyse information they have obtained from parents and to make consultations with other stakeholders of the programme in order to find amicable ways to facilitate the refund.

Early Last week, the parents had taken to the streets of Eldoret town demanding a refund of their monies, refuting claims by the county government to have refunded them Sh68 million. They had threatened to stop the upcoming devolution conference which will be held in Eldoret from 15th to 19th this month if they are not refunded on time.

This comes at a time when the the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is investigating allegations of embezzlement of over Sh837 million by officials of the Uasin Gishu County Government. 

The said funds were collected from parents for the facilitation of the overseas academic programme in Finland and Canada during the financial year 2021/2022.

Courtesy ; K. N. A