Parents and learners across the country are grappling with the back-to-school rush, amid hiked commuter fares, fees arrears and other commitments as institutions of learning started reopening yesterday.

The worst hit is thousands of university students who are still not able to access the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) portal to apply for loans ahead of the reopening of the institutions.

In Kisii County, there were long queues outside banking halls as students sought to withdraw funds to pay fees.

At Kisii Branch Huduma Centre, several university and college students rushed to acquire various documents to enable them to report to the institutions.

Some students told People Daily they wanted to transfer to other universities while others wanted to pick their national identity cards to enable them to secure loans from the government.

Students queued at various colleges to open bank accounts for the government to channel their fees through them while parents and guardians whose children returned to secondary schools flocked to shops to buy learning materials and uniforms.

Open university

Naftal Nyangorora, a parent, lauded Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu for assuring parents that students joining universities and colleges will be allowed to report as the government processes their loans and scholarships.

This is even as Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service announced the commencement of admission to the Open University of Kenya (OUK) through their portal yesterday.

A press release sent to newsrooms yesterday indicated that the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof Elijah Omwenga, had requested the placement body to list five-degree programmes and two postgraduate diploma courses on the student placement application portal.

The undergraduate programmes to be offered are Bachelor of Data Science, Bachelor of Science in Cyber Security and Digital Forensics, Bachelor of Technology Education, Bachelor of Business and Entrepreneurship and Bachelor of Economics and Statistics.

The postgraduate programmes will include the flagship Postgraduate Diploma in Leadership and Accountability and the Postgraduate Diploma in Learning Design and Technology.

The degree and postgraduate diploma programmes have between 12 and 14 course units per academic year. Learning will take one year for postgraduate programmes while the Bachelor’s degree programmes will take four years to complete.

However, for open and self-paced learning, a student can decide to take a course unit at a time on the alternative flexible mode and may take a longer period.

“For the first time in Kenya’s history, work experience, short courses or recognition of prior learning will be considered in admitting learners to pursue degree programmes, according to admission requirements released by the university. It is expected to benefit Kenyans who missed early opportunities or faced barriers such as formal grades, age, capacity to pay, gender or geographical location to access university education, through the flexibility of learning that allows students to learn at their own time, pace and place,” the statement said.

In the Coast region, parents and students were at the weekend racing against time to conduct last-minute shopping ahead of the reopening.

But as they tackled the burden of back-to-school shopping, the nightmare of hiked bus fares awaited them.

In Mombasa, bus booking offices and terminus in Mwembe Tayari in the city centre painted a picture of a crisis.

Multitudes of students and their parents travelling back to schools upcountry after the August vacation in Mombasa and other coastal towns were stunned by skyrocketing fares after some of the bus companies reportedly doubled their fares.

“I have two kids in secondary school. Imagine today they are charging us Sh2,200, while we normally pay Sh1,200. Now I have been forced to pay Sh4,400 for the two,” said Josephine Njenga, a resident of Mombasa who urged the government to tame bus companies that take advantage of the rush to overcharge students.

She said the situation had been made worse by the fact that schools have reopened before the end month when many parents are broke.

Schools are also opening at a time when the cost of living is sky high.

This is even as management of various schools called for timely payment of new term’s fees and clearance of arrears.

Parents reported that headteachers had posted multiple reminders on school whatsApp groups, that parents should clear balances and pay fees on time.

“For the whole of this week my headache has been about school fees. Besides, I have to take care of a few things here and there like stationery and even an additional pair of uniforms,” said Michael Odera, a resident of Kwale County.