University students rush to find funding, accommodation

Students joining university from next month are in a rush to secure funding, accommodation and inter-institutional transfers after placement results were announced last week.

The announcement came too close to the beginning of the 2021/2022 academic year and now families must quickly pool resources before classes begin.

Many students, however, have not been able to start their preparations, as some universities have not uploaded their admission letters on their websites.

With just two weeks for some students to prepare, they are in the dark on joining requirements and how to secure funding from the Higher Education Loans Board (Helb). First-time applicants have until the end of December to apply.

After the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) announced the results, individual universities are expected to send admission letters to students.

Students who hope to secure on-campus accommodation are anxious as the allocation in almost all universities is on a first-come, first-served basis.

“I managed to download my admission letter on Saturday but I’m not sure whether I’ll get university admission. My parents don’t want me to rent outside the university,” a student who will join Murang’a University of Technology told the Nation. The student will report on September 6.

Students have also been advised to purchase laptop computers. They will need the computers to prepare for virtual learning if in-person learning becomes impossible as the Covid-19 pandemic remains a challenge for educational institutions.

Students are also required to undergo a medical examination and submit the reports before reporting to university.

Those joining South Eastern Kenya University are required to present an admission, readmission and studentship bond signed by a parent or guardian before a judge, magistrate or advocate.

Students joining Kenyatta University have a longer time to prepare as those in science and engineering colleges will report on September 20 and the rest on October 4 2021.

Their admission letters have not been uploaded but university officials said these will be provided this week. “The admission letters shall be made available soon. Kindly keep checking the website and all our social media pages,” a message on the website said.

The University of Nairobi will begin its early online registration of first-years on Monday, September 13, but the 2021/2022 academic year will start on September 20 in the reorganised faculties of Agriculture, Built Environment and Design, Business and Management Sciences, Education, Engineering, Health Sciences, Law, Science and Technology, Social Sciences and Veterinary Medicine.

The faculties were created in July after the university council abolished the colleges that existed in the previous structure to avoid duplication and functional overreach. They will be headed by executive deans assisted by associate deans.

The university will send short text messages to students directing them to download their letters before the end of the week.

The University of Embu and Multimedia University of Kenya are also among those that have uploaded admission letters for students.

Early reporting and registration for students at Egerton University will open from August 30 to September 3 2021, with orientation taking place between September 6 and 10 and learning beginning the following week.

“All first-year 2021 class are expected to upload the required documents using the link firstyears.egerton.ac.ke before reporting,” the university says on its website.

KUCCPS has also announced that students who are not happy with their placement and would wish to apply for an inter-institution transfer can do so from September 1 to 30.

Applications will be submitted online through the student’s portal. When transferring, students can change the institution or both the institution and the course and hence move from diploma to degree from degree to diploma.

The transfer application procedure will be posted on the student’s portal by September 1, 2021.