Education Ministry Pressured to Revert to Old Higher Education Funding Model.
The Elimu Bora Working Group has called for the immediate disbandment of the 129-member committee that was recently appointed to evaluate the new university funding model.
They urged the Ministry of Education to restore the previous model, stating that the current system has barred hundreds of thousands of students from accessing higher education.
In their Sunday statement, the group insisted that the Ministry of Education should reinstate the old university funding structure to allow the large number of students who had been locked out of the education system to resume their studies.
They emphasized that students should not be subjected to policies that experiment with their future and potentially compromise their education.
The group argued that no committee is needed to prove the harmful effects of the new model, as its negative consequences are already evident.
Impact of the New Funding Model
The group reported that approximately 600,000 students eligible for university placements did not enroll in 2023.
Of these, over 23,000 students who met university entry requirements opted not to apply due to the unaffordability of education under the new model.
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Furthermore, thousands of diploma and certificate students have also been affected by the rigid structure of the funding system.
A table summarizing the affected student groups:
| Student Group | Number of Affected Students |
|---|---|
| Students eligible for university placement | 600,000 |
| Students who met university entry requirements but did not apply | 23,000 |
| Diploma-eligible students | 136,592 |
| Certificate-eligible students | 249,149 |
Unaffordable Funding Bands for Diploma and Certificate Students
The group also highlighted that 136,592 diploma-eligible students and 249,149 certificate-eligible students could not continue their studies because the new funding model placed them in unaffordable funding categories.
They noted that the system’s inflexibility made it difficult for these students to access education.
On September 16, President William Ruto appointed a national committee to review the new funding model and provide recommendations for improvements.
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This committee is expected to assess various issues, such as the effectiveness of the appeals mechanism for funding recategorization, the cost of university programs, and the structure of student loans.
Education Ministry Pressured to Revert to Old Higher Education Funding Model.
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