Kenyan Students Prepare for University Applications as New Funding Model Sparks Changes

Starting next week, students who aspire to join universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions in Kenya will have the opportunity to submit their applications. The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) will be opening the application portal, as announced by Agnes Mercy Wahome, the Chief Executive Officer of KUCCPS, during a meeting with university registrars.

The institutions are currently facing a time constraint to provide data in accordance with the new funding model recently announced by President William Ruto. They have been given until tomorrow (Tuesday) to furnish KUCCPS with information regarding the cost of their programs. Once received, KUCCPS will publish this information to aid students in making informed decisions.

During the meeting, Dr. Wahome instructed the registrars to provide the cost of all programs offered, regardless of whether the students are self-sponsored or government-sponsored. She emphasized the need to determine the actual cost of providing the services without complicating matters by categorizing students into various sponsorship definitions.

This meeting followed a prior discussion among the vice-chancellors on the same topic. Dr. Wahome directed the registrars to provide the program costs excluding accommodation and meal expenses.

Under the new funding model introduced by Dr. Ruto, universities will no longer receive block funding for students. Instead, each student will be funded based on the cost of their chosen course, determined by the government at a specified percentage.

During the meeting, Dr. Wahome requested the institutions to only provide the actual cost of the first year of each program for the admission of candidates in 2022.

Previously, Universities were funded through the Universities Funding using the differentiated unit cost (DUC) system, implemented in 2015. This system provided the maximum cost of courses across all universities. However, under the new model, the costs will differ among universities as they have varying expenses.

Dr. Wahome highlighted that the costs of engineering and clinical medicine programs are likely to vary over the years due to the internships associated with them.

In a communication sent on Saturday, Dr. Wahome requested universities to submit the data indicating the cost per year by Tuesday. She also clarified that while KUCCPS will publish all programs, the government will only provide scholarships to students selecting degree programs in public universities. Therefore, students choosing programs in private universities and TVETs will not be eligible for government scholarships but can apply for the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) loan instead.