De-Mystifying HELB-nomics.

 

On average, a Kenyan would spend approximately 4 years in the University to complete and graduate an undergraduate course. Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) provides student loans to University students to a tune of Kshs. 200,000, translating to Kshs. 50,000 p.a. By 2019, a total of 125,746 students were set to join different universities in Kenya. Assuming that each of these students received Kshs. 200,000 for the 4 year study period, it will be a whooping Kshs. 25.2B.

Our Kenyan education system has for a long time been one that is pre-designed to churn out “job seekers” rather than “job creators” resulting to a ballooning populace of Kenyans supposedly with degrees. The Kenyan Economic survey, 2019-KNBS, indicated that 83.6% (Kenya’s informal sector employs nearly 15 million Kenyans, according to 2018 estimates, compared to the 2.9 million who work in the formal sector. These 15 million Kenyans are the domestic workers, cleaners, beauticians, mechanics, and street vendors, among many more) of employment created in 2018 was from the informal sector, formal sector-15.5%, and self-employed-0.9%.

A case in point: Teachers Service Commission in the latest drive to employ over 11,000 teachers across the country is giving preference to Kenyans who graduated over 10 years ago. What does this real mean for the many Kenyans in the University space hoping to secure a “formal job” after graduating? We are currently privy to the fact that the Kenyan Treasury has suspended any employment in the public service for the next 3 years.

The Kenya Poverty Index was at 29% in 2018 (Approx 14.7M Kenyans) and was ranked eighth globally and sixth in Africa among countries with the largest number of people living in extreme poverty, according to the World Poverty Clock report, as they consume less than $1.90 (Sh197) per day or Sh5, 910 monthly and while the current Kenyan Minimum wage is Kshs. 13,572/month.

Is HELBnomics an illusion? Assuming the projected 25.2B that ought to be disbursed to university students in four years (6.3B per annum) was invested in the informal sector, with a projected RoI of 20% p.a., how many jobs would it create in a period of 10 years that a graduate would be tarmacking in search of a formal job? A Return on Investment of 20% translates to Kshs. 5.029B in four years, 1.3B per annum. If this is shared out (assuming this to be the income achieved through investing in the informal sector) and the minimum wage as the baseline, this will translate to 92,651 Households pushed above the poverty line p.a. This will in turn translate to 361,339 Kenyans pushed above the poverty line of people earning Kshs. 197 per day.

In my view, there is need to change the conversation by focusing on the lower end of the pyramid.  My proposals may not be appeasing to many or of the popular opinion, but it is a basis for having a robust conversation as we move forward;

-          De-fund by 50% progressively non-core university courses.

-          Support scientific courses.

-          Raise the Public University entry qualification from the current C+ to a B plain.

-          Link Technological Universities to the Manufacturing and Innovative space.

-          Masters and Phd students to be linked with existing institutions in offering real life solutions to   the current problems.

-          Increase the government subsidize to the Universities.

-          Strengthen the TVETS targeting increased technically oriented mid-level graduates.

Value addition, creating market access and provision of sustainable affordable capital are the key main inputs for strengthening the Informal sector which is a key driver of the Kenyan Economy.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Authored by;

Brian N. Kavuwa.

briventures@gmail.com. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Office Time Myth Post-Covid-19!

Image
Brief History of 8:00 am – 5:00 working Time. During the Industrial Revolution, companies attempted to maximize the output of their factories by keeping them running as many hours as possible, typically implementing a “sun up to sun down” work day.  Wages were also extremely low, so workers themselves often needed to work these long shifts just to get by, including often sending their children to work in the factories as well, rather than getting them educated.  With little representation, education, or options, factory workers also tended to work in horrible working conditions to go along with the bad hours.  The typical work day at this time lasted anywhere from 10-18 hours per day, six days a week.  This all began to change in the 19th century. The first to suggest an eight hour work day for everyone was a British man by the name of Robert Owen, who was also one of the founders of socialism.  Owen felt that the work day should be divided into thirds, ...
Read more

THE PROPOSED FREE SCHOOL MILK! HOW SUSTAINABLE IS IT?

Image
A Senate Bill proposes all pupils be given free milk at school to improve their nutrition. The free school milk programme, Maziwa ya Nyayo, was introduced by President Daniel Moi in the 1980s. The Basic Education (Amendment) Bill, 2020 sponsored by nominated Senator Beatrice Kwamboka (ODM) proposes re-introduction of free supply of milk to all pupils and pre-primary learners. The Bill comes at a time when the government-funded school feeding programme has run into trouble due to a Sh500 million budget cut and the exit of the big donor, the World Food Programme [1] . When these proposals are put forward, the proposers never break down the details (numbers) of the bill and the public never get to ask what exactly this bill translates to financially. It is high time we Kenyans get to interact with what our so called Leaders proposals, because eventually there will be a direct impact on the country’s spending which is our taxes. A s at 2018, KNBS reported that there were 8,700,000 pri...
Read more