NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 25 – President William Ruto is set to hold a town hall meeting with students at 7.00pm today at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Nairobi.
During the meeting, he is expected to address a number of issues in the education sector including the university funding model.
The meeting comes amidst uncertainty on the fate of needy students set to join higher learning institutions due to the inability of their parents and guardians to raise the required fee quotas.
A section of education stakeholders have criticized the funding model for locking out the dreams of needy students.
Debate on the model which requires students to top up varying amounts to complement State funding unfolded as Principal Secretary State Department for Higher Learning Beatrice Inyang’ala appeared in an informal meeting before the National Assembly to deliberate on the funding model.
Nearly 12,000 aggrieved students have so far registered appeals through the Higher Education Financing (HEF) portal contesting the new university funding model.
Universities Fund Chief Executive Officer Godfrey Monari disclosed that the review process has already begun, with students set to receive the status of their appeals within three weeks of application.
This is even as the ineffectiveness of the Means Testing Instrument (MTI) used to classify students in different funding categories emerged with critics citing data inaccuracies and inadequate grading parameters.
The funding model places students in five bands using eight variables, including parents’ background, gender, course type, marginalization, disability, family size, and composition.
The model combines the variables to determine household needs and appropriate funding. However, parents and learners have decried miscategorization with a majority placed in band 4 and band 5.
The Ministry of Education has so far received Sh5.8 billion for student loans and Sh2.8 billion for scholarships for disbursement to students across five bands categorized based on needs.
This new funding framework replaces the Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) model previously used to finance universities.
Unveiled by President Ruto on May 3, 2023, the model aims to ensure that all eligible students receive financial support for their education.
