The Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) has appealed to Members of Parliament to secure Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) financing for its students, warning that exclusion from state financing is forcing thousands of qualified students to abandon their training slots.
Appearing before the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) Committee, chaired by Hon. Musa Sirma, the KMTC management, led by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Kelly Oluoch, responded to questions on the status of KMTC projects funded by the NG-CDF Board and a review of constituencies with NG-CDF-funded KMTC campuses.
Dr. Oluoch informed the Committee that although the college trains over 85 per cent of Kenya’s healthcare workforce, its 89,586 students face challenges accessing government financial support because KMTC falls under the Ministry of Health rather than the Ministry of Education.
“KMTC should not have to leave the Ministry of Health to get funded. National financing legislation should recognize KMTC trainees as post-secondary students deserving equitable state funding,” Dr. Oluoch told MPs.
The KMTC CEO said the exclusion is already causing a crisis in admissions and that 20,000 students placed through KUCCPS fail to report every cycle after discovering there is no government scholarship or loan to support them.
Committee members observed that the situation results in a double loss, as students who cannot afford the fees surrender their slots while other qualified applicants miss opportunities because slots have already been allocated.
Hon. Clive Gisairo (Kitutu Masaba) proposed that KMTC and Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) introduce in the meantime, a declaration of ability to pay fees before placement to minimise wastage of admission slots.
“You need a disclaimer during the courses application, informing students that there’s no funding from government for KMTC courses. You should collaborate with KUCCPS for a pop-up message on their portal so that students get the information that those courses are self-sponsored,” said Hon. Gisairo.
However, Hon. Sirma backed KMTC’s plea, questioning why an institution responsible for training the bulk of the country’s healthcare workers should be left out of the Ksh. 300 billion education financing package.
“It makes no sense for KMTC — which trains over 85% of healthcare workers — to be left out simply because it sits under the Ministry of Health rather than the Ministry of Education,” said Hon. Sirma.
Defending KMTC’s placement under the Ministry of Health, Dr. Oluoch argued that training is clinical and depends on hospital attachments, clinical preceptors and health regulatory bodies. He cited Bukura Agricultural College under Agriculture, Kenya Water Institute under Water and Utalii College under Tourism as precedents for specialized colleges staying under line ministries.
To guarantee equitable funding to all students in tertiary institutions across ministries, the KMTC CEO proposed that the envisaged, Tertiary Education Funding Authority (TEFA), sit under the National Treasury.
