Uasin Gishu students stranded in Finland have to pay

News & Politics
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New Governor says it was not a county project. No funds were allocated.
The overseas programme was created to enable parents who did not have the ability to obtain bank statements or even bank accounts to support the visa application process," the statement read in part.
The parents of the students stranded in Finland intimated to the press that they had already paid for six months of accommodation and first semester fees and sought the county government to explain why their children risk deportation.

According to the governor, the parents of students based at Jvaskyla and Laurea had over three weeks to pay the fees as the campuses had set March 31, 2023, as deadline.

Tampere, on the other hand, declined to extend the February 28, 2023 deadline.

https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/86512-uasin-gishgovernor-intervenes-after-202-kenyan-students-got-stranded-finland

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I wonder how many Kenyan parents can come up with the money needed here…I think they went deep over their heads… :smiley:

[B][I]Weche Mogik[/I][/B]
[I][B]202 students studying in Finland “under scholarships offered by the County Government of Uasin Gishu”! Wow! Is this really true that a County Government can afford to sponsor 202 students to study abroad? From what I know, most counties struggle to pay burseries of Ksh 20,000 for 1 child in a Kenya Government school, how lucky is Uasin Goshu to afford sending 202 students to study in Finland, where fee per year for foreign students come to over Ksh 2 million per year. Someone shoud offer a better explanation to this story.

Paul Nga’ngaa
Apparently the county is now telling parents to pay. If any county offers to pay for your education abroad don’t believe them.[/B][/I]

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Depending on gava for scholarships knowing full well it’s a place for people to seek jobs for their illiterate tribesmen. Kweli kuna watu wajinga.

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Uasin gishu is a rich county btw I grew up in eldoret and I can tell, it’s a stable economy.

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The media has not done justice to this story. What do the parents say? Seems to me they believed the county was offering scholarships.

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No economy can be stable under kipmeno leadership.

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Kama hujiwezi peleka mtoto ajifunze kazi ya mikono but encourage him to acquire a degree from a reputable university in future on his own.

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Low IQ bonobos don’t know the value of education. Imagine the government coming up with a scholarship scheme to con its citizens :D:D:D:D:D:D:D

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Kipmeno ako mbele mambo ya Ufisadi. Most likely they ate hundreds of millions in the name of the scheme only to leave them stranded.

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Njaruo heal

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Mimi si njaruo (smegma boy) banae.

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Parents actually claimed that there were withdrawal of laarge sums of cash from that kitty. Kipmeno wanakulana wenyewe, penda sana

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Hii kitu ilianzishwa na Mandago. Current Gov Koti Moja hatambui. Sad really

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Mandago alikua anatafta windfall ya kumumunya polepole

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This is a dog-eat-dog society

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[SIZE=7]Finland student death by suicide: ‘My son had a better job in Kenya and regretted going abroad’[/SIZE]
Friday, April 21, 2023

https://nation.africa/kenya/counties/uasin-gishu/finland-student-death-by-suicide-my-son-had-a-better-job-in-kenya-and-regretted-going-abroad--4207062

“My son had a better job working as a nurse aide in Kenya. He regretted going to Finland.”

Those were Mr Jonathan Kosgei’s words, upon the tragic demise of his son Mr Rodgers Kipruto who is reported to have died by suicide in Finland out of frustration.

Mr Kipruto was among the 202 students from Uasin Gishu county who were airlifted to Finland on a controversial study program
deal between the county government and three universities in the foreign country- Laurea, Jyvaskylla, and Tampere universities.

The program has been riddled with controversy after the Kenyan students ended up being stranded in a foreign country over fee arrears.
In the arrangement, parents were to remit their children’s fees through a county government account, and county officials would then settle the fees, with the devolved unit acting as guarantors.

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Watch: Uasin Gishu administration distances itself from Finland education scam

The 26-year-old took his life, citing frustrations in the foreign nation, following the stand-off between the county government and parents on modalities of settling the fee arrears to enable him to continue with his studies.

[SIZE=6]Deportation threats[/SIZE]
He was a student at Laurea University, which reportedly discontinued studies of the Kenyan students and threatened to deport them over fee arrears.

“My brother led a frustrated life after Laurea University terminated their studies in March after completing his first semester. Although he received support from Kenyan friends at the university and family at home, he was at his lowest point due to the high expectations he held when he joined the university,” divulged the elder brother to Mr Kipruto, Mr Boniface Kemboi.

https://nation.africa/resource/image/4207096/landscape_ratio2x1/320/160/45e2cc04c5b9b760f469426fa1a45d35/TF/kipruto2-pix.jpg
A past photograph of the late Rodgers Kipruto, 28, who was a nursing student at a Laurea University, Tikkurila Campus in Finland.
Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group

Laurea University had put on hold studies for students pursuing nursing and physiotherapy until the tuition fees for the second semester are paid.

Mr Kipruto had complained a lot of the suffering in the foreign land, his family revealed to Nation.Africa on Thursday at their Chirchir farm in Kesses, Uasin Gishu County.

Read: Scholarship scam: Finland varsity threatens to kick out students

He had enrolled for a degree in nursing after quitting his job as a nurse at a Nakuru Level-five Hospital. The deceased was the third born in a family of six. His decision to take his life took his family and friends by surprise.

“At some point, my son said he had a better job while in Kenya, working as a nurse aid at Nakuru Level 5 Hospital, and Mediheal Hospital and Fertility Centre in Nakuru. He regretted going to Finland,” his father told Nation.Africa.

Once in Finland, students on the program had been promised study and work, with successful ones being guaranteed stable employment upon completion of their courses. It was a promised life-changing opportunity.

[SIZE=6]Last moments[/SIZE]

Mr Kemboi, the elder brother to Mr Kipruto recounted his last moments with the deceased, moments before he died by suicide.
According to the family, Mr Kipruto was a cleaner at a Finland mall and relied on this to survive in the foreign country.

Mr Kemboi disclosed that his brother had sought menial work for upkeep and occasionally depended on support from the Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) church in Finland where he was a member.

“It took time before we realized that our brother was suffering from severe depression in the foreign land. It is only after he shared a number of a family member with his friend Daniel from Elgeyo Marakwet that he confided in us what was going on,” said Mr Kemboi.

He added: “Through the conversation with Daniel, the family managed to send him Sh50,000 for upkeep and that was a turning point as he started sharing the difficulties he was undergoing abroad.”

Read: More Finnish varsities threaten to deport 91 Kenyan students over study scam

The amount was sent in installments; Sh20,000 was sent on January 3 while Sh30,000 was sent on February 26.

“My son died due to depression,” his father said at their Kesses home. He spoke with a lot of difficulties, fighting tears that rolled down his cheeks effortlessly- the pain so evident. Mourners had gathered at the home to mourn with the family.

“My son has died, I don’t want other people’s children to follow,” said Mzee Kosgei, with the family now seeking help to bring the body of their kin back home.

“Parents please find a way of getting your children out of Finland. I beseech, don’t wait to have your children come home in coffins,” he pleaded.

He had spoken to his son days before his tragic decision.

“I spoke to my son. He told me hapa iko shida (there is a problem here), but I will survive,” he narrated to Nation. Africa when we visited the home on Thursday.

“I just plead with the county government to bring the body back. From there if they refuse to assist in burial experiences, the community will assist me bury,” said Mzee Kosgei.

[SIZE=6]Plea to President[/SIZE]
The family has urged President William Ruto to intervene. “They just take our children to Finland and dump them there,” Mzee Kosgei lamented.

Mzee Kosgei’s family had invested a lot in his training at Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC). With a foreign land offering room for opportunity, they did not anticipate the tragic turn of events.

“Someone is playing with our children’s lives,” Mzee Kosgei said.

The deceased’s elder brother said the county government should move swiftly to bring his body home so that they can give him a decent send-off. They have been informed of the possibility of the Finnish government disposing of the body if there are delays in claiming it.

Read: Hitch in effort to save 202 students facing deportation in Finland

According to Mr Kemboi, their kin was paid some Sh60,000 from the job as a cleaner and it became difficult to meet his personal needs as well as settle college fees and accommodation.

The money had enabled him and a friend to secure an apartment that was going for Sh18,000 up from the previous one that cost Sh13,000 per month.

“My brother’s main worry was how our struggling parents would raise his university tuition fees considering that he was employed back at home and was expected to raise monies for his studies and upkeep,” he stated.

His parents had settled Sh150,000 and were in the process of raising another Sh500,000 by next Monday to pay fees to enable him to continue with his studies.

“It was only on Tuesday morning when I last, talked with him, but he complained that he was feeling unwell. He was feeling fatigued and had pain in the joints. He later sought medical attention at a nearby health facility but the diagnosis did not show any ailment,” added Mr Kemboi.

https://nation.africa/resource/image/4207100/landscape_ratio2x1/320/160/a8aa9963fa931cc01ea64bae8633af98/BH/kipruto4-pix.jpg
A past photograph of the late Rodgers Kipruto, 28, who was a nursing student at a Laurea University, Tikkurila Campus in Finland with his parents Mr Jonathan Kosgei and wife Leah Kosgei.
Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group

They only learned about the sad news of his demise from a woman popularly known as ‘Mama Kenya Finland’ who called them, and later friends confirmed the tragic incident.

Read: No student will be deported from Finland, Governor Bii promises

“Some neighbors and friends had learned about the incident as early as Tuesday evening, but they kept it secret until 6 am Wednesday when they came home and shared the sad news before it was circulated on social media platforms,” he revealed.

On Thursday, family members, relatives, and friends gathered at their Chrichir farm in Kesses, Uasin Gishu County as they discussed the next move.

Mr Kipruto’s mother Ms Leah Kosgei said President Ruto should intervene to have all the students in Finland under the Uasin Gishu county government study arrangement brought back home.

“Let my son be the last to suffer and die in this manner. He complained a lot, but said they were all struggling as a team,” she said.

“We were deceived into paying 70 percent of the fees, which is Sh950,000 out of Sh1.2 million, and that the remaining 30 percent would be paid by students who will be studying and working at the same time. Only to find out later that classes were on full-time for the first seven months,” her husband said.

[SIZE=6]Reveal details[/SIZE]

Today, more parents with students in Finland are expected to join the Kosgei family to mourn with them.

“Come and hear their stories you will be shocked. We have single mothers who sold almost everything to send their children to Finland with the hope of getting a better life. They are now crying because they have nothing else to sell to maintain the children there,” Mzee Kosgei said.

The parents have promised to reveal the full details of what awaited them in the study deal that was kept a secret by cartels- whose results are now showing.

A team from the county government has already visited the home to mourn with the family, but the matter is now being handled by the homicide department from the Finnish government, said Mr Kemboi.

“We are still waiting for communication from the homicide department, Kenyan Embassy in Helsinki, Finland, Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, and county government,” Kemboi said.

Read: Finnish airlift scandal: Senior county officials sent on compulsory leave as investigations commence

The Finland-Uasin Gishu student airlift program was initiated by former county governor and now senator Jackon Mandago, and has been under public scrutiny for the last three months.

The Uasin Gishu County Government recently issued a statement confirming the fee arrears controversy, with the management of Tampere University threatening to expel the students and have them deported unless they settled their fees on deadlines.

A report from a Uasin Gishu county assembly committee shows that 111 of the 202 students are at Tampere University, 25 at Jyvaskyla University, and 66 at Laurea University.

The students were required to pay 8,650 Euros, an equivalent to Sh1.19 million in school fees, Sh80,000 accommodation fees for three months, Sh30,000 insurance fee, Sh49,000 for a visa, Sh5,000 for a Covid-19 test and 100,000 for their flights.

The total payment for 166 students enrolled for a three and half year degree nursing course spread in the three universities –Laurea, Jyvaskylla, and Tampere was Sh640.3 million as per exchange rate of Sh129.70 against the Euro in 2021.
Twenty-six students who were pursuing a Diploma in Nursing were paying a total of Sh44.5 million, bringing the total amounts paid for 192 students to 684.8 million.

[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

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Kipmeno Marisa kila kitu, kata hata makende ya punda uza

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Shida ya wakenya akiskia mtoto ako na chance ya kwenda majuu akili inaacha kufanya kazi. Anadhani mtoto ataenda huko kuokota pesa right from the airport akituma nyumbani majirani waskie kiwaruu.

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Ujinga mingi tu hata mtoto hawezi jijenga kila siku ni demands after demands, mara pesa ya Chama, mara ulipromisw familiabuzi, bills kulipishwa kwa bar na till na mzae, ferked up I say

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[SIZE=7]Agony for Rodgers Kipruto’s family as Finland threatens to dispose of body[/SIZE]
Tuesday, April 25, 2023

The family of Rodgers Kipruto, the Kenyan student who took his own life in Finland, is in agony after authorities notified them to collect his body within 21 days, failure to which police would dispose of it according to Finnish laws.

It is a race against time as parents of the student, who was said to have been depressed, appeal to well-wishers to help raise Sh4 million needed to take his body back home for burial.
Kipruto was among 202 students from Uasin Gishu County who went to Finland on a study programme deal between the county government of Uasin Gishu and three universities that was later hit by controversy.
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https://nation.africa/resource/image/4207094/portrait_ratio1x1/70/70/38660e74d64d8c6573553fa2f4fba641/bK/kipruto1-pix.jpg[/URL]
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The students joined Laurea, Jyvaskylla, and Tampere universities in Finland after parents deposited money into an account run by the county, but months later, the institutions demanded payment of fees or the students would be deported.
A county assembly committee that investigated the scam recommended investigations into the management of the overseas education account for forgery, abuse of office, and lack of integrity.
Kipruto had been depressed and physically unwell since last October and complained about hardship in Finland after leaving Kenya on October 30, 2022. He was a student at Laurea University, studying for a degree in nursing after quitting his job as a nurse at a Nakuru Level Five Hospital.
Kipruto’s father, Mr Jonathan Kosgey, told Nation.Africa that the family was unable to bring back his body for burial and have organised a fundraiser on Friday.
[SIZE=6]Raising the funds[/SIZE]
“Ferrying the body requires up to Sh3 million and as the family, we had exhausted all the resources to send him to study in Finland. Now that he will be brought as cargo, the bill is humongous. We have also set up a Paybill number to assist us in raising the funds and also the burial cost. The Paybill number will be up by Tuesday this week,” he said.

“We have been notified within 21 days the body should have been flown or the Finnish authorities will dispose of it. All Kenyans of goodwill, we are pleading with you to help us give him a decent send-off after bringing the body back to Kenya,” he appealed.
https://nation.africa/resource/image/4212294/landscape_ratio2x1/320/160/cc67a7555f8b17f809312adfbaef9ead/Cw/kipruto1-pix.jpg
A past photograph of the late Rodgers Kipruto, 28, who was a nursing student at Laurea University, Tikkurila Campus in Finland. He is reported to have died by suicide in Finland out of frustration.
Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
Mr Kosgey said the Kenyan embassy in Finland has already reached out to the family and is aiding in addressing logistical issues to ensure the body is brought on time.
“We have relatives in Sweden who are now in Finland to assist us and already a post-mortem is under way and we are waiting for the report. As a family, we are optimistic we shall receive the body at JKIA because already the embassy in Finland has asked us (parents and another person) for details so that we will be the ones receiving the body in Nairobi,” he said.
The distraught father urged other parents whose children are still studying in Finland to get close to them to avert tragedies.
“We were seeking a better life for them but as it turns out our children are suffering in the foreign nation. Parents should monitor them and we hope a solution to the issues will be found in due course,” he said.
[SIZE=6]Pile pressure[/SIZE]
Mr Kosgey said the family has received an outpouring of tributes and condolences from Kenyans from all walks of life who have been streaming in to their Chirchir farm in Kesses, Uasin Gishu County.
Following the tragedy, leaders in Uasin Gishu continue to pile pressure on the administration to castigate the airlift programme, saying it has subjected the more than 200 students to untold suffering. They called for a solution to avert more loss of life.

“It is a very sad ending and an outcome that was never expected by any of the stakeholders, including Rogers himself. The political demagogues’ unmeasured greed for the blood of an innocent flock eventually squeezed the life out of him. The deceit and manipulation were beyond his comprehension,” protested Kiprop Bundotich alias Buzeki, who unsuccessfully contested for the Uasin Gishu gubernatorial seat in the 2022 election.
He said the program was created as an impermeable storyline of education cum employment package that made the opportunity look like a journey to the land of milk and honey.
“The storyline was opaque and full of lies to some of us. Now that Rogers has died, on whose hands is his innocent blood? The profiteers of this corrupt scheme already spent the kickbacks they received from the money Rogers paid to travel to a fake Finland,” he said.
[SIZE=6]Fearing to speak out[/SIZE]
He said it was time the Finland story was exposed for the lie it has been for a long time so as to free students and parents from mental torment and the hidden struggles they are living with, many fearing to speak out.
“The government should expose this filth before we lose another youth. A commission of inquiry must be set up urgently. Drain the swamp,” charged Buzeki.
Revelations of Kenyan students depressed in Finland after being shortchanged in the controversial study programme hatched by the Uasin Gishu government have come to the fore following the death by suicide of one of them last week.
[email protected]