Kenya Medical Training College students carry out an experiment. The students are entitled to loans from Afya Elimu Fund. FILE
What you need to know:
Money will go towards the Afya Elimu Fund which targets to raise Sh1.5bn.
Under the kitty, qualifying students pursuing medical disciplines will be assigned Sh150,000 each.
The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa) has pledged Sh500 million towards a fund seeking to increase the number of mid-level health professionals.
Kepsa will give the money, to be raised through its Kenya Healthcare Federation, to Afya Elimu Fund which targets to raise Sh1.5 billion for a revolving fund targeting to produce 3,000 medical graduates in five years.
“We are going to approach various private sector foundations for funds to support the country’s healthcare system,” Healthcare Federation chief executive Amit Thakker said on Monday during the announcement of the fund at Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) offices in Nairobi.
The government and the United States Agency for International Development (USAid) will provide the balance of the fund which will be run by Helb.
Under the kitty, qualifying students pursuing medical disciplines will be assigned Sh150,000 each.
“Applicants for the new fund are likely to continue receiving Sh150,000 per year with half going towards fees and the rest as stipend,” said Mr James Mwanzia, the chief of party at Funzo Kenya.
The Afya Elimu Fund, set for launch on September 10, will replace Funzo Kenya, a Sh3.4 billion USAid scholarship scheme started last year.
The scholarship pays tuition and personal upkeep for 441 students through the State owned Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), faith based institutions and private medical colleges.
Beneficiaries of the fund will be required to pay back the money together with Helb’s four per cent interest on maturity of the loans.
Funzo Kenya said those already on the programme will continue enjoying the scholarships even after the loan scheme starts. USAid will give an additional Sh87 million ($1 million) to the new fund. In the new arrangement, Helb will identify deserving students to access the funds.
Inadequate resources
“We expect the fund to be self-sustaining after five years as beneficiaries repay their loans,” said Helb CEO Charles Ringera.
The fund is restricted to college students pursuing disciplines like nursing, clinical medicine, laboratory services, nutrition and health records information technology. This means that university students pursuing courses in similar fields will not access the funds and will make do with the normal State loans.
Though the University Act 2012 recommends that science students should receive funding of up to Sh180,000 per year, inadequate resources could make this difficult.
