Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migosi Ogamba on Friday, August 16 announced that students set to join various universities across the country will receive their updated calling letters by Monday, August 19, 2024.
The Ministry of Education has announced that students set to join various universities across the country will get to know the specific amount they will pay in fees.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migosi Ogamba on Friday, August 16 announced that students set to join various universities across the country will receive their updated calling letters by Monday, August 19, 2024.
The newly appointed CS noted that this was in adherence to a directive by President William Ruto on August 14, 2024, instructing universities to release new fee structures to first-year students stipulating the annual household contribution towards the total cost of degree programmes.
“In line with the President’s directive, the Ministry is pleased to announce that all universities have rolled out the process of releasing new letters to all the first batch of 125,893 students who have so far applied for loans and scholarships under the Student-Centred Model,” the CS said in a statement to newsrooms.
Julius Migos Ogamba, Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Education, during the Kenya Music Festival State Concert at the Eldoret State Lodge on August 16, 2024. /PCS
Migosi noted that the ministry directed universities to ensure all letters have reached the First Year students by August 19.
In accordance with the tenets of the new Student-Centred Funding Model, students have been awarded scholarships and loans according to their level of need, consistent with any one of the five predetermined bands.
The CS said the government will avail Ksh25.3 billion to fund scholarships for the incoming first-year students, stating that “the government reaffirms its commitment to quality and affordable higher education.”
He further assured that the ministry remains dedicated to ensuring that student funding is allocated fairly and equitably, addressing the genuine needs of applicants, stating that the evaluation criteria based on validated application information considered a student’s family economic background, affirmative action, socio-demographic factors, and family education expenditures
He called on students who may have any queries and appeals on the fees to direct them to their dedicated team through the Higher Education Portal, http://www.hef.co.ke
“In line with the Government’s commitment to leaving no one behind, the application portal will remain open. The Ministry assures that all additional applications will be processed swiftly on a rolling basis,” he said.
The new education CS urged eligible students who wish to receive funding and have not yet applied to do so without delay to ensure prompt processing of their applications.
In early June, the National Assembly Committee on Education instructed the ministry to send out university admission calling letters with exact fee figures, wanting all admission letters to exclude the amount paid by the government so as not to intimidate parents.
Initially, when the Student Centred Funding Model was introduced, the calling letters quoted huge figures. Currently, fees for higher learning are paid in three components; scholarships and loans which the government provides, and household contributions paid by the parents.
The Student-Centred Funding Model was introduced in May 2023 and implemented in September of the same year. This year, the second cohort of students joining Universities under the new funding model will also receive financial support.
