The Ministry of Education is grappling with a mounting crisis over its new university funding model as it scrambles to correct placement errors affecting nearly 13,000 students. This development comes after revelations of widespread misclassification and data inaccuracies that have plagued the funding process.
On Friday, August 23, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba announced that 12,958 students had applied for re-categorisation under the new model. The correction process is expected to be completed within three weeks.
However, the application portal will remain open until December 31 to accommodate ongoing appeals and adjustments.
This intervention follows a critical report from Geoffrey Monari, CEO of the University Fund, who disclosed that 127,000 scholarship loan applications have already been processed. Monari confirmed that appeals from students are being reviewed.
Once the appeals are processed, universities will be instructed to adjust the family contributions on the portal accordingly.
The situation has been further complicated by a significant limitation in the tool used to classify students for university funding, leading to the misplacement of approximately 5 per cent of the 113,000 students under the government scheme.
This flaw was revealed on Tuesday, with the Ministry admitting that inaccuracies in student classification stem from a flawed Means Testing Instrument (MTI) and discrepancies in data provided by applicants.
Head of Public Service Felix Koskei attributed the misclassification issue to fraudulent declarations of family income. Many students, hoping to secure more government aid, reported income figures that were significantly lower than their actual earnings.
"A substantial number of students were declaring parental incomes below Ksh20,000, but our verification efforts revealed dishonesty," Koskei stated during the National Research Festival in Nairobi.
Documents tabled before Parliament corroborate Koskei’s claims, exposing widespread inconsistencies in the information submitted by applicants. The Ministry's report highlighted numerous challenges in the classification model, particularly in identifying the number of dependents—a key factor in determining funding needs.
The Ministry's reliance on the National Education Management Information System (Nemis) and the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) for verifying student data has revealed critical gaps.
Students who did not apply through the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) or who were not listed with HELB experienced data entry errors, exacerbating the problem.
To address these issues, the Ministry is developing a new virtual learners register called the Kenya Management Information System (Kemis), designed to bridge existing data gaps.
Additionally, universities have instituted a screening process to verify the accuracy of funding band results, while students are advised to check their loan and scholarship awards on the Higher Education Funding (HEF) portal.
The document also highlights errors in how universities communicated funding categories to students. Limited funding has resulted in some students being placed in lower funding bands than their financial circumstances warrant.
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