Government faces a formidable student funding challenge

The government of Kenya is facing an unprecedented challenge as the funding of about 200,000 students destined to join the corridors of public universities beckons, come September 2024.

In the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results, which were released in January by Kenya’s Education Cabinet Secretary, Ezekiel Machogu, the number of students who qualify for direct admission to public universities in Kenya jumped by 16% to 201,133 students.

This is 27,788 more students than the 173,345 recorded in the KCSE class of 2022.

“The number of candidates who attained the minimum university entry qualification (C+) this year and above was 201,133 which was 22.27% in the year 2023 compared to 173,345 which was 19.62% in the year 2022,” said Machogu.

“This is as a result of the application of the new grading system that reduced the number of compulsory subjects required to compute the mean grade,” he added.

Candidates who attain a mean grade of C+ and above qualify for direct entry into university in Kenya, and are also eligible for government funding.

Formidable challenge

The magnitude of this influx of students into the tertiary education system presents a fiscal quandary of monumental proportions. Government funding is needed, not only for tuition fees, but also for the higher education sector’s infrastructure, faculty salaries and resources vital for a conducive learning environment.

The impending surge in university enrolment, set to unfold in September, therefore, presents a formidable challenge for the government, even as the state, itself, and public varsities in the country have embraced cost-cutting measures amid a financial crunch.

This surge, whereas it is an embodiment of Kenya’s burgeoning thirst for knowledge among its younger population, will demand innovative solutions and strategic planning.

The main question the government, given its fiscal constraints, faces is how to fund the education of this influx of students adequately.

Concerns emerge regarding the strain on existing resources, potential compromises in academic quality, and logistical challenges in accommodating the swelling student populace.

The forthcoming academic year 2024-25 looms as a litmus test, a testament to the government’s resolve and adaptability.

New funding model

This surge comes at a time when the government recently implemented the New Funding Model which seeks to fund students directly in the form of scholarships, loans and bursaries.

The development marked the beginning of the implementation of the new model announced in May 2023, which has seen the government group students into three ‘financial’ categories: vulnerable, less vulnerable and able.

Under the model, vulnerable students will be fully funded by the government, a departure from the current model whereby any student who qualifies to join the university via the government-funded scheme enjoys state financing through the university.

In the new model of funding, the government seeks to channel fiscal assistance directly to the individual students at higher institutions of learning, as opposed to the previous model, whereby it was channelling the money to the institutions.

The funding considers each student’s case on an individual basis, bearing in mind factors such as the household monthly income of the student’s home.

Placement portal

The government placement body, the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) has officially opened its portal for those interested in joining institutions of higher learning in the country.

The portal is now open for the KCSE class of 2023 students to apply for university, teachers training colleges, the Kenya Medical Training College, the Open University of Kenya and technical and vocational education and training, or TVET, placement.

Moreover, those who completed Form 4 between the years 2000 and 2022 and did not further their education can also make applications on the KUCCPS portal for the courses they qualify to pursue.

From last year, KUCCPS required universities, colleges and technical institutions to reveal the cost of pursuing the different courses they offered.

This, according to the government agency, would help students to choose courses they can afford, as the cost varies from one university to another.

Some of the costlier courses in the previous placement were medicine, engineering and law.

Out of 140,107 candidates who were placed for various degree programmes, 130,485 were placed in public universities while 9,622 were placed in private universities.