The controller of Budget, Dr Margaret Nyakang’o has written to county governments informing them of their jurisdiction while issuing education bursaries.
In the letter dated, January 14, Nyakang’o outlined the clear distribution of functions between the County and National Governments.
In that regard, she noted that students joining the University and other tertiary institutions should not be getting bursaries from the County Governments as that is a reserve of the National Government.
“Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule under Section 16 designates universities, tertiary educational institutions, primary schools, special education, secondary schools, and special education institutions as functions of the national government,” a section of the letter read.
According to the letter, however, the devolved units would have full reign in funding students in other levels of education including pre-primary and village polytechnics.
“Conversely, part 2 of the Fourth Schedule under Section 9 assigns pre-primary education, village polytechnics, homecraft centers and childcare facilities to county Governments,” the letter continued.
For county governments who wish to provide bursaries to students in levels designated for the national government, due process is required.
This will involve the formulation of an intergovernmental agreement executed by an authorised person and will also be required to be published in the Kenya Gazette.
“Therefore, any requisition for withdrawal of funds to perform functions categorized as national government functions under Part I of the Fourth Schedule must be accompanied by the requisite intergovernmental agreement as prescribed,” the letter concluded.
This comes even as the new university funding model is facing challenges attributed to teething challenges as the government seeks to scrap the former High Education Loans Board (HELB).
In the new model, the government sought to share the cost of university payments with parents by evaluating the socio-economic status of a household and categorising them into bands.
The controversial system prompted a series of reactions including nationwide student protests and a petition to the High Court by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) in 2023.
In a December 20, 2024 ruling, the High Court deemed the system unconstitutional due to its lack of legal foundation, discriminatory nature, and failure to involve public participation.
However, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba quickly reiterated that the government had formed a multi-sectoral committee to address the issues.
“The President formed a working party committee to re-examine the entire funding model and refine it to ensure the next cohort does not face the same challenges encountered during the admission of the current cohort. That committee is continuing its work,” Ogamba stated.
