Kenyan Students Overseas Face Deportation Threat

The Commission for University Education (CUE) in Kenya has disclosed that the whereabouts of thousands of Kenyan students who had previously gone abroad to pursue their education remain unknown.

These students had reportedly discontinued their studies for various undisclosed reasons. The commission, during a parliamentary committee hearing, stated that while it possesses data on the number of students enrolled in foreign universities categorized by gender, it lacks concrete information regarding their current activities in those countries. This revelation has raised concerns among lawmakers in the National Assembly, who fear that the ambiguity surrounding these students’ circumstances could potentially lead to some of them facing deportation or becoming stranded in their host countries.

As part of the licensing process for recruitment agencies, the Commission mandates that they provide comprehensive details about the students they have recruited, including the number of students sent to each university and country, classified by gender. Furthermore, the agencies are required to furnish information about the student’s specific study programs, the nature of their sponsorship, and the identity of the sponsoring organization in cases where they are scholarship recipients. However, the Commission has encountered difficulties in obtaining accurate information about the students’ ongoing activities due to the stringent privacy laws in place in the host nations.

Mr Opanga, a representative of the Commission, informed the members of parliament, “While we can provide the number of students who have gone abroad by gender, as we continuously update this data, we are unable to access details about their current activities due to the data protection regulations in those countries.”

Mr Opanga stresses the importance of collaborating with other relevant stakeholders to ascertain the whereabouts and activities of the students who have withdrawn from their courses. He stated, “We must strengthen the rules so that when they drop out, we can determine if they have enrolled in another program.” He further mentioned that the Commission would compile the data on the numbers by June and present it to the committee.

During the parliamentary hearing, Mr Opanga also noted that Australia and Ireland have emerged as the most sought-after destinations for many Kenyans seeking education abroad. Dr Marete, another representative, clarified that only licensed recruitment agencies are authorized to facilitate the enrollment of students in foreign universities. Regrettably, numerous unsuspecting parents and guardians have fallen prey to unscrupulous agencies that falsely claim to have the ability to secure placements for students in prestigious universities abroad. These fraudulent practices have resulted in the loss of millions of shillings.

Desperate to provide their children with the opportunity to pursue higher education abroad, countless families have been left financially devastated by these deceptive schemes, with little recourse to seek justice or recover their losses. To obtain a license from the authorities, recruitment agencies must fulfil certain legal prerequisites set by the national government, such as possessing a certificate of incorporation, a business license, and a freight certificate. However, some agencies commence operations immediately after acquiring these documents, without first obtaining the necessary license from the regulatory body.

In response to this issue, the regulatory body is actively collaborating with the National Intelligence Service, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, and county governments to ensure compliance among these agencies. The rise of online operations has further compounded the challenges faced by the regulatory body in identifying and bringing these agencies under the appropriate regulatory framework. Nevertheless, the regulatory body remains committed to addressing any negative information about agencies that emerges from both traditional and social media sources.

Presently, the committee is conducting an investigation into the legality of recruitment practices employed by agencies operating within the country. This investigation has been prompted, in part, by the recent Finland scholarship controversy, wherein some families had been deceived into paying substantial sums to recruit their children for study abroad programs.