The former Chief Justice, David Maraga, has slammed the government for introducing a new university funding model, stressing that this will attract severe repercussions in the education sector.
In a press briefing on Sunday, July 3, the former CJ warned that the new model, which he says was engineered without a solid strategy, will have no benefit to the people and will instead continue crippling the already struggling education sector.
The new funding model has attracted a significant financial burden to students, a factor that Maraga warns will lead to many university students dropping out of school.
According to Maraga, who claimed that there was no need to replace the old model, the government should reconsider the new university funding model and introduce a new one that is well thought through.
"What is happening is very interesting, because why did they change it in the first place? Because if you want to introduce a new model, you need to think it out clearly and make sure that the system you are introducing will work for the people," Maraga said.
"This isn't how things are done. Remember some of the young people who have missed class in their classes; they are going to lose several years, and some of them are even going to drop out," Maraga added.
The new Higher Education Funding Model was unveiled by President William Ruto in 2023 and aimed at addressing recurrent challenges encountered by public universities and Technical and Vocational Education (TVET) institutions due to massive enrolment and inadequate funding.
The new model, which replaced Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC), channels funding directly to students, based on individual financial need determined by a Means Testing Instrument (MTI), incorporating household income, geography, dependency ratios, disabilities, and course choice.
The statement by Maraga comes days after the Higher Education Principal Secretary Beatrice Muganda Inyangala announced the reduction of school fees for all public university programmes under the student-centred funding model.
In a statement on Thursday, July 31, the PS claimed that the revised fees, which will take effect on September 1, 2025, will affect both new and continuing students.
For instance, students pursuing clinical medicine and dentistry will pay between Ksh22,371 and Ksh75,000 per semester. Pre-clinical programmes in the same fields will attract fees ranging from Ksh12,960 to Ksh51,840.
On the other hand, students undertaking Architecture and engineering programmes will pay between Ksh12,960 and Ksh57,888.
The PS directed all universities to implement the changes within the stipulated timelines to ensure that no student is left out due to financial constraints.
“The Government of Kenya is pleased to announce a landmark rationalisation of public university fees based on the Student-Centred Funding Model,” the PS stated.
