By Patricia Mollyne Mataga
The Ksh 1 million that President William Ruto gifted to Dedan Kimathi University of Technology will be equally shared amongst the students, the institution’s management has announced.
Ruto gave the students the money during his visit to the institution on March 26, 2024.
Later, the university management sought the opinion of the students on how best to utilize the money.
According to an internal memo doing rounds on social media, opinions from the students were collected via Google Docs, where every learner was asked to suggest how the money should be used from three available options – share the money equally, organize a luncheon or allocate to student’s bursary.
A majority of the students 51 per cent preferred the money to be shared equally amongst them while 36.4 per cent were for the money to be used for luncheon.
However, only 35.5 per cent picked the choice of using the cash on their bursaries.
“Following the outcome of public participation, it has been decided that every registered undergraduate student during the January – April 2024 semester including students who are in internal attachment during the semester will be given Ksh 180,” the university said in the memo dated April 9, 2024.
“All the class representatives are therefore directed to inform their fellow classmates to collect the money from the DWS office on 9th April 2024 effective 10 am,” it added.
The memo was signed off by the Dedan Kimathi University of Technology Director of Students Welfare Dr Esther Nthiga.
For collection of the Ksh180 share of the president’s donation, the students will be required to have a National Identity Card and a student ID.
“Kindky note that any uncollected money by Friday 19th April 2024 will be channelled to the student’s bursary,” the university said.
Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (DeKUT) is a Chartered Public University that has two campuses: the Main Campus in Nyeri and the Nairobi Campus.
It I categorized as a medium-sized institution with an enrollment range of 7,000-7,999 students.