The confusion after the Deputy Governor’s words in the Uasin Gishu Province Grand Assembly Hall is palpable.
– All the money comes from the students’ parents. The province doesn’t pay anything, we are just guarantors, he said John Barorot right after the initial compliments.
It is about Kenyan students studying at Tampere University of Applied Sciences and Tampere Adult Education Center. In Finland, until now, there has been a perception that Uasin Gishu province would pay for young people’s studies in Tampere in full.
– We have believed in that. The agreement on education export has been made with Uasin Gishu province and tuition fees have been paid by the province, says TAMK’s director of international relations Carita Prokki.
Students are happy, fees are falling
Carita Prokki was seriously worried before the meeting with the vice governor. The studies of 125 nursing and physiotherapist students in Tampere are going well.
– They are hardworking, motivated and positive people. Most of them also do side jobs for the 30 hours a week allowed by their visa to support themselves and send money home to Kenya, says Carita Prokki.
After negotiations, Uasin Gishu’s payment period was extended until the end of December.
– But the money is still not in the account, Carita Prokki told on Friday morning.
The governor transfers responsibility for arrears to parents
In the great hall of the county hall, vice-governor John Barorot assures that the province’s new administration, which has been in office for a hundred days, values educational cooperation with the people of Tampere very much.
– Everyone here knows Finland and Tampere. We are also starting educational cooperation with Canada and Australia, but Finland is our big success story. We definitely want to continue and develop this activity.
Deputy Governor Barorot blames the non-payment of bills on the students’ parents.
– Some parents have spread the rumor that education in Finland is also free for Kenyans, and that’s why 43 families out of 51 have refused to pay this year’s tuition fees.
The governor promises that the provincial government will contact those families who have not paid the fees individually in the coming days. He believes that the families do have the money collected, but they just need to be convinced that it has to be paid – a lesson when in Finland it is free only for EU citizens.
If a family does not agree to transfer the money to the account established by the province, according to the deputy governor, there is only one option left.
– In that case, their children cannot continue their studies in Finland, John Barorot states.
“We can pay the tuition fees even tomorrow”
A good hour after the meeting with the vice-governor, Carita Prokki and Teppo Tapani, principal of Tampere’s adult education center, face a different truth in the hotel’s meeting room.
At the beginning of the meeting, Carita Prokki tells the families of Kenyans studying in Tampee that studying in Finland is not free – and it does not raise any objections.
There are about 30 parents present, and they admit that they have not paid this year’s fees. But the reason is quite different from the one presented by the deputy governor.
– We have the money, and we can pay the tuition fees even tomorrow. But we don’t want to pay them through the province’s account.
The parents say that considerable sums have been collected from them in Kenyan terms, almost two million Kenyan shillings, or about 15,000 euros per student. The money has been paid into an account set up by the province for the purpose at KCB bank.
– Despite requests, we have not been told what has been done with our money. We don’t know how much has been paid to educational institutions in Finland, nor what other purposes the money has been used for, the parents say.
Parents cannot pay directly
The parents would like to pay for the education directly to TAMK, but Carita Prokki explains that this is not possible under Finnish law.
– According to the laws regulating the export of education, degrees can only be sold to groups, and the payer must be, for example, another state, an international organization or a foundation.
The idea is that the entity that orders the degree training is a stable partner that can guarantee the tuition fees for many years. Individual families cannot give such a guarantee.
But now it has become clear that Uasin Gishu Province cannot offer any guarantee either. Although the deputy governor said in his speech that the province is the guarantor of education, Uasin Gishu does not have the funds to pay the missing tuition fees.
– We only have a very small scholarship fund, from which we pay scholarships of a maximum of 500 euros to some students in Kenyan educational institutions. There is no money in our budget for international degrees, says Deputy Governor John Barorot.
How to get out of the deadlock?
The students’ parents present Carita Prokki with a proposed solution, which they ask to forward to the provincial administration.
– They don’t listen to us, maybe they listen to you.
The idea is simple: the parents would like the county administration to set up a new bank account, with one county representative and four parents’ representatives appointed as managers. The account would be in the name of the province, but it would be supervised by those whose money is involved.
Carita Prokki promises to convey the idea to Deputy Governor Baroroti.
– We have to do everything possible so that this great project can continue. In no case do we want to give up on our students, says Carita Prokki.
Saimaa Vocational College also terminated its contract
Edusampo of the Saimaa vocational college also signed an education export agreement with Gishu province in Uas last year. Entrance exams were held in Eldoret in September and based on them, 25 cooking students and 25 cleaning students were selected.
They should have started their studies in Lappeenranta and Imatra at the beginning of this year. Instead of a plane ticket, the students received a nasty e-mail before Christmas: Education and the right to study in Finland has been canceled because Uasin Gishu has not paid the agreed education fees.
– We have not received a single euro from the agreed amount of around 500,000 euros. We had no other option but to terminate our contract, says Edusammo’s CEO Terhi Toikkanen.
“My family raised a million shillings”
Yleen was contacted by a young Kenyan who was selected for chef training in Lappeenranta. He is disappointed, but the situation is not as serious as for those already studying at TAMK. This young man does not want his name made public.
– My family has collected about one million shillings (8,000 euros) for my studies, but we haven’t had time to pay any of it to the province yet.
The young person who dreams of becoming a chef and working in Finland has not given up hope, but believes that the province and Edusampo could still reach an agreement.
– In any case, I want to go to Finland. If a student graduates here in Kenya, there are no jobs available for them. There are jobs and good conditions in Finland, he says with a smile.
An opportunity for the now disappointed young people of Uashin Gishu may soon open up through Edusammo, but via a slightly different route. Terhi Toikkanen is already preparing cooperation with a new Kenyan agency.
– We no longer want to deal with Kenya’s provinces. We organize education so that all students clearly pay for their education themselves.
With its new partner, Edusampo aims to organize the entrance exams for the chef and cleaning industry in Nairobi and Eldoret already in February.