By Muthoni Maina
President William Ruto met with vice-chancellors of public universities and principals of constituent colleges to evaluate the funding model introduced last year.
The New Funding Model (NFM) was unveiled on May 3rd last year by the President.
It aimed to address the challenges that public universities and TVET colleges were facing due to massive enrollment and inadequate funding.
The approach prioritized the needs of students, with loans and bursaries being distributed to university and TVET students who have received placement letters from the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS), determined by their evaluated level of need.
The students were classified into four categories: vulnerable, extremely needy, needy, and less needy, determined by evaluating family economic background.
The reasons for unveiling the funding were to address challenges facing universities, ensure eligible Kenyan students receive adequate financial support, especially the vulnerable and extremely needy who pay nothing, and promote equity and access to higher education.
Students are also required to apply for scholarships as opposed to uniform awards.
Fee payment has been implemented as the actual cost of the program.
The President stated that the vice-chancellors confirmed the functionality of the financial model, and it is set to address financial challenges within three years.
“The Government is committed to enhancing budgetary support for differentiated unit costs for continuing students,” the Head of State said.