MOIS FAT FINGERS By: Francis Omondi “Hii ndio pesa tumebaki nayo, (This is the only money we are left with)”, said a mother to her husband after having been made to pay Kshs. 500 for a T-shirt in one of the Schools before her son could be admitted. The couple were left Ksh. 150. They looked devastated, but their son’s admission was a priority to them. This is just one of the agonies that parents and guardians who accompany their sons and daughters to campus on reporting dates go through. Student associations and business persons in Moi University and its environs, take this opportunity to overcharge their products and services. There is one reining question: is it just to make one pay at least two times more than the normal price of a product or service on that day? Fare, passport and T-shirts “Nililipa 2 soo kutoka tao mpaka Moi. Kumbe Moi ni mbali.” said Jane* a first year student in the School of Arts and Sciences. On normal occasions, it costs Ksh. 70 to travel from main campus to town in a bus and Ksh. 100 to travel in a matatu. On 22nd of April, most first years paid an equal amount to school from town. As it was published by one campus media house, the chairman of MU 84 SACCO assured Moi University fraternity that no matatu shall charge exorbitant fares on the reporting date, a statement that neither actualized. Most student associations especially school based sold T-shirts at Ksh. 500 averagely. This was made mandatory as part and process of registration. Unknown to most parents and first years, they innocently gave the money. One parent was shocked when she was asked to pay Ksh. 500 for a t-shirt, which according to her, was of ‘low’ quality considering the material and design of graphic. This, according to a particular official of a student association, is a process of ‘generating huge’ money for the club. Is it a must? I helped one parent carry her daughter’s suit case from the Students’ Centre to the zebra crossing next to Technology Road next to School of Engineering. Along the way, he asked me if it was mandatory to have T- shirts before registration. I answered him that it’s advisable that one owns one. “It cost me 200 shillings for a passport yet it’s 150 for eight copies,” he asked again. I wasn’t able to answer him immediately. After thinking for an answer in a short while, I told him that it was ‘peak’ season for most business people. He laughed it off, but I knew he was being sarcastic. Some parents had to confirm from the administration if it was basic requirement and they were advised it wasn’t necessary but ‘good’. Small group consequences Whereas majority of parents opted to follow the financial requirements laid for the sake of their fresh loved ones, some felt the burden was too heavy keeping in mind the mindset that campus life is ‘expensive’. To the minority, it was a tip of the iceberg of what their daughters and sons will demand in monetary equivalence from them in a few weeks time once they completely adapt to varsity life. If indeed unnecessary financial exploitation from innocent parents and first years must come to a stop during reporting days, then, student associations should employ, with moderation, efficient methodologies of the registration bureaucracies.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 15:46:35 +0000
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