The High Court on Thursday stopped implementation of President William Ruto's new higher education funding model until the case filed by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and 3 other petitioners is heard and determined.
Justice Chacha Mwita in his ruling observed that the case took longer because the government led by Attorney General, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba and Kenya Universities and College Placement Service (KUCPS) delayed in filing its submissions.
The petitioners led by the Elimu Bora Working Group, Boaz Waruku, and the Students Caucus, argued that the funding model is discriminatory and locks thousands of students out of higher education.
The petitioners had moved to court on October 13, 2023, seeking orders to halt the implementation of the new university funding model.
They argued that the new funding model will lock out many students from less privileged backgrounds from accessing university funds.
KHRC cited the implementation of the new funding model is a breach of Kenyan learners' rights
The petitioners further pointed out that while the president had a mandate to discharge, President Ruto did not follow the due process when he launched the model.
According to the model segmented into 5 bands, students from vulnerable and extremely needy households would receive full funding while the less needy will get up to 90 per cent funding.
This comes even as university students across the country continue holding protests calling for the new funding model to be scrapped.
The case will be mentioned on December 16, 2024, to highlight submissions.
Over 14,000 students who were placed in universities in 2024 have not yet reported to their respective schools raising questions on the viability of the new funding model.
Despite the Ministry of Education's projection of 138,538 students joining institutions of higher learning, only 124,364 students have so far reported.
There has been public dissatisfaction with the new funding model from all quotas. To many, the key issue is the parameters used to assign students their bands depending on an array of factors like household income level.
