President William Ruto has announced government’s plans to guarantee full funding for every Kenyan student admitted to a university or college.
While addressing the issue on Tuesday, July 21, Ruto declared that qualifying for admission would be the only requirement for government sponsorship.
“Going forward, any student, so long as they have passed their examinations and they have been placed in a college or university, will get full funding for their higher education. It will be the choice for parents if they want to pay.”
This will mark a significant policy shift as the government seeks to calm growing concerns over the affordability of higher education following months of debate surrounding Kenya’s university funding model.
The President’s proposal would see all placed students receive full funding regardless of their background.
“Countries that are ahead of us had high-quality education. Education was a central pillar. My team tells me that education makes us equal and has no equal. That is where we are taking this.”
The President also revealed that his administration wants Parliament to urgently amend the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) Act before the September university intake.
He said the changes are intended to remove financial barriers that prevent students from pursuing competitive degree programmes.
“I want to implore Parliament to expedite amendments to the Higher Education Loans Board so that beginning September we can make sure that any child who qualifies for medicine does not fail to study medicine because their parents cannot afford to pay the household contribution.”
