70,088 students who scored a C+ on the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams in 2022 suffered a setback from the government.
This came about after the University Fund organization declared that the State lacked the resources to finance all eligible students for undergraduate degree programs.
The method the state will use to finance university students was disclosed by University Fund Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Geoffrey Monari while speaking on Saturday, February 25, at the Universities Financing Conference in Mombasa.
“We are not going to tie placement on the amount of money available in the state coffers.
“Placement will continue, meaning everyone who scored C+ and above will get university placement through Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS),” Monari revealed
Monari added that while everyone will get university placement, that will not directly translate to university funding as it has been in the past.
“We are going to fund based on the available funds,” the CEO remarked.
Students who scored C+ and above will now be required to make fresh applications through the KUCCPS portal to be considered for State funding.
If not successful but decide to accept their placements, the students will now be required to foot their university education.
Earlier, during the conference, Monari had proposed that university funding be pegged on merit, the level of need, national priorities and affirmative action.
With the government proposed criteria, 30,088 out of 70,088 students who scored C+ will miss out on university funding.
According to the recommendation of President William Ruto’s task force on education, students who lose out on government sponsorship will have to pay Ksh48,000 every semester for their undergraduate degree studies.
The decision by Vice Chancellors at the conference to let individual universities set tuition rates rather than having the Ministry of Education do so means that the sum will also likely grow.
This was one of many policies that were put in place to aid with the funding of colleges who were heavily indebte
Universities also introduced short professional courses, leased out space, built enterprises on vacant property, and leased out buildings.
