The government has released the fees that new varsity students will be required to pay in the revised model per university per course.
While some students will not be required to pay anything, they will be required to get student loans to cover the difference, which could push more Kenyans into debt amid unemployment.
The ministry has maintained that the new funding model will increase student admission to universities and ease financial pressure on the institutions that are currently struggling with mounting debt and pending bills.
The model classifies students into vulnerable, extremely needy, needy, and less needy. It allows students to access scholarships and loans from the billions set aside by the government.
The vulnerable are those with no household income, the extremely needy are those with a Ksh23,671 household income per month, the needy have between Ksh23,672 and Ksh70,000 per month and the less needy have a household income of between Ksh70,001 and Ksh200,000 per month.
To determine the level of need, the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) Means Testing Instrument shall be applied.
This test will consider, parent's background, gender, course type, previous school type, expenditure on education, family size and composition, marginalisation, and disability.
"The total funding requirement for the New Funding Model is Ksh 39.4 billion for the Financial Year 2023/2024. To support this Model, the Government has already increased resources by Ksh 12.5 billion this Financial Year. The current funding gap of Ksh 18.6 billion will be provided during Supplementary 1 of the Financial Year 2023/2024," reads a statement from the ministry.
Students have up to September 7 to apply for loans and scholarships or risk being locked out. They can apply through the official website hef.co.ke as applications are free.
The verification process takes seven days, one day for funds to be allocated and then disbursed based on opening dates.
As of August 23, 2023 applications have continued to come through, there were 75,272 successful applications for university and TVET students.
MOE expects 140,107 university students and 145,060 TVET students to apply before the time lapses.
University Students
The households of the vulnerable and extremely needy students will not contribute anything. Students who qualify for university admission are those who attained a minimum grade of C-.
The vulnerable will receive 82 per cent in scholarships and 18 per cent in loans while the extremely needy will receive 70 per cent in scholarships and 30 per cent in loans.
On the other hand, the needy will receive 53 per cent in scholarships, and 40 per cent in loans, and the family will pay 7 per cent.
The less needy will receive a 38 per cent scholarship, and a 55 per cent loan, and the family will pay 7 per cent.
TVET students
Learners from vulnerable homes will receive an 80 per cent scholarship and a 20 per cent loan, while the extremely needy will receive a 70 per cent scholarship and a 30 per cent loan.
The needy students will get a 50 per cent scholarship and, a 30 per cent loan, and the family will pay 20 per cent while the less needy will get a 32 per cent scholarship and a 48 per cent loan, and the family will pay 20 per cent.
The government has put more emphasis on students joining TVET institutions to get hands-on skills and be employed to create employment for themselves.
Under the new funding model, students will also get upkeep depending on their level of need. They will get between Ksh13,600 and Ksh60,000 also based on whether they are in universities or TVETs.
Meanwhile, the amount a student will get also depends on the course. Below is an illustration of fee variation in five courses from different universities.
Bachelor's Degree in Medicine
Bachelor's Degree in Law
Bachelor's Degree in Education
Bachelor's Degree in Arts
Bachelor's Degree in Commerce
