Fix varsity agents’ crisis

There appears to be no respite for the higher education sector as it hurtles from one crisis to another. As it grapples with the implementation of a new funding model that provides loans, bursaries and scholarships to students, a new problem has arisen.

Kenyan students seeking to study at overseas universities may be grounded. The licences of the 39 recognised agents, who link Kenyan students to foreign universities, have expired. The question that arises is why this could not have been averted instead of allowing such a vital service to go into limbo.

The absence of the agents will make it extremely difficult for the applicants to authenticate the choices they may have made.

The Commission for University Education (CUE) has revealed that out of the 86 agencies that have been cleared to operate in the country, only 39 have valid licences. However, even these have not yet been renewed.

Approved agencies

It is crucial that the system for placing Kenyan students in overseas institutions is streamlined. The country is still reeling from a scandal in Uasin Gishu County in which parents scrounged to raise funds for their children to go and study in European universities.

Some went and have got stranded as their institutions are locked in a stalemate with the county over funding. Other students never travelled despite having paid the requisite fees.

It is important that only approved agencies be allowed to recruit Kenyans to study overseas. Thousands of gullible parents and guardians have easily been conned out of millions of shillings by shady agencies, promising placement in prestigious universities and vanishing after being paid.

The CUE must effectively exercise its mandate to ensure that students going abroad are enrolled in accredited and recognised universities to get quality training. It must stop the crooks and have appropriate action taken against them.