The cost of higher education in Kenya is ¡°turning millions of parents into paupers and killing the dreams of millions of our children¡±, a leading politician has warned.

Raila Odinga, Kenya¡¯s prime minister between 2008 and 2013, said that universities must develop cheaper modes of delivering courses because too many would-be students, particularly those from poor or rural backgrounds, were being ¡°left behind¡±.

Speaking at Nairobi¡¯s United States International University Africa, Mr Odinga also said that the burden of student loan repayments must be lowered for graduates who took on lower-paying public service jobs, arguing that people should not feel ¡°punished¡± for having gone to university.

¡°University education is not a luxury but a basic requirement for the development of our country and our youth,¡± Mr Odinga said. ¡°It should therefore be affordable to every family.

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¡°The sad truth is, just like healthcare, university education is turning millions of parents into paupers and killing the dreams of millions of our children. Streamlining student loans and [the] cost of tuition must be part and parcel of the plan to improve access and equity in Kenya.¡±

Mr Odinga, the runner-up in Kenya¡¯s 2013 presidential election, also claimed that ministers in the country had come up with higher education regulations which were ¡°intrusive and overly prescriptive in the name of quality assurance¡±.

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He said that, while quality was important, ministers had adopted an attitude of ¡°command and control¡± and appeared to be misinterpreting legislation in order to ¡°micromanage the design and delivery of courses¡±. ?

The government was ¡°even attempting to supervise and evaluate lecturers¡±, he said. ¡°This approach undermines the autonomy and conventional universality of universities. Universities cannot and must not be identical.

¡°The government should be content with setting broad guidelines without purporting to regulate every aspect of campus life like hiring, firing, promotions, construction, fundraising and curriculum and educational programmes.¡±

chris.havergal@tesglobal.com