Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has expressed his disappointment at the rejection of the Higher Education Loans Board Amendment Bill, 2020.
The Education Committee on Tuesday rejected the Bill on the premise that it risked the long-term existence of the loans board.
The Bill sought to increase the grace period for payment of the loan from one year to five years. It was also seeking to reduce the loan interest from four to three per cent.
Babu has, however, promised university students to remain patient as he is set to bring back the recently rejected bill after six months as per the law.
The lawmaker, who has been very vocal when defending students’ welfare, has promised to sponsor the re-introduced bill.
“I will bring it back and spearhead it after six months,” Babu told the Star on Thursday in a phone interview.
He said legislators who rejected the Bill ignored and belittled the value of education.
“Any member of Parliament who is fighting it is either uneducated and does not know the importance of education, or has not gone to university,” Babu said.
Erick Ochola, a member of the Kenya University Students Organisation, hailed nominated MP Gideon Keter for fronting the initial bill.
“We want to applaud the youthful MP Gideon Keter for pushing his bill to Parliament and we say thank you. But as we move forward as students, we are not happy because it was rejected,” Ochola told the Star.
Keter also took to Twitter to condemn the rejection of the Bill. He said it meant to cushion graduates and persons with disabilities against high-interest rates and punitive penalties imposed by Helb.
Students who do not secure jobs immediately after completing school would be shielded by this Bill as they would have five years to start clearing the loan.
A provision in the nullified Building Bridges Initiative document also sought to give graduates a grace period of five years.
“The proposed amendments further exempt loanees without a source of income from paying interest on the loans advanced to them until such time that the loanees start earning an income,” the report reads.
The Education Committee, however, said the existing four per cent interest cap was adequate and should not go lower to safeguard the board's existence.
Helb also imposes a Sh5,000 monthly penalty on defaulters.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)
