The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
Related Articles
Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Julius Ogamba has announced that the government will revise the university funding model.
Click here to join our WhatsApp Channel
Speaking at the Nyeri Polytechnic graduation ceremony on Friday, Ogamba explained that these changes aim to make funding more inclusive for students.
“The concerns raised indicated that some of the factors used did not accurately reflect students’ financial abilities. As a result, we have been refining the work of that particular committee, which is evaluating the cost of programs,” Ogamba said.
He added that the variables have been expanded to produce outcomes that better match each student’s financial situation.
Ogamba also mentioned that program costs were reassessed to ensure they are priced correctly, with any necessary adjustments based on the recommendations from the 129-member committee appointed by President William Ruto.
Additionally, Ogamba confirmed that changes to the university funding model would reflect the committee’s recommendations and address the concerns raised by the court about the funding framework.
This announcement follows a ruling by the Court of Appeal two days earlier on the new University Funding Model, which the High Court had declared unconstitutional.
In their decision, Justices Patrick Kiage, Weldon Korir, and Joel Ngugi instructed the Attorney General, the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), and the Trustees of the Universities Fund to establish and announce an appeals process within 14 days.
This process aims to provide students dissatisfied with funding decisions or their classifications a way to seek redress.
The court emphasized that the appeals process should be accessible to all students and other relevant stakeholders.
“The execution of the judgment and orders of the High Court in Petition 412 of 2023, issued on December 20, 2024, is stayed,” the court stated.
Furthermore, the appellate court directed higher learning institutions to inform both current students and new applicants that the funding model could change depending on the appeal’s outcome.
The new university funding model has caused controversy, with many criticizing its classification of students into different bands as discriminatory. Public backlash led President Ruto to appoint a 129-member committee on September 16, 2024, to review the model.
