President William Ruto has appointed a national working committee on the review of the new university funding model.
In a gazette notice on Monday, September 16, 2024, Ruto appointed a four-pronged committee to examine the grey areas that had confused universities nationwide.
“I do order and direct that the National Working Committee on Review of the New University Education Funding Model is hereby established,” Ruto said.
Adding: “The Committee shall comprise the following four Workstreams/ sub-committees: The Workstream on the Review and Refinement of the New Funding Model for Universities and Technical, Vocational Education and Training Institutions (TVETs); The Workstream on Appeals arising from the categorization of students into various eligibility bands for allocation of Scholarships and Loans; The Workstream on Structure of Student Loans; and The Workstream on the Review of the cost of University Academic Programmes.”
This comes after the Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba indicated that a review committee was imminent, following nationwide complaints over the new university funding model.
Leadership of the committees
Consequently, Ruto has appointed Japheth Micheni Ntiba as the board chairman of the four working committees, with the individual chairpersons and co-chairs of the workstreams serving as members of the board.
The workstream on the review and refinement of the new university funding model for universities and Technical, Vocational Education and Training Institutions (TVETS) shall have Karuti Kanyinga as the chairperson and Deborah Zainab Hirbo as the co-chair.
Similarly, the workstream on appeals arising from the categorization of students into various eligibility bands for the allocation of scholarships and loans shall have Walubengo Waningilo as chairperson co-chaired by Lucy Machugu.
Also, the workstream on the structure of student loans shall have Robert Oduor Otieno as the chairperson and Aron Kiprotich Bett as the co-chair.
Lastly, the workstream on the review of the cost of university academic programmes shall have Mohamed S. Rajab as the chairperson, assisted by Patrick Malanga.
Ruto acknowledged the inconsistencies in the means testing capabilities of the system, stating that the committee will look into the complaints raised and offer solutions.
“There is increasing concern about the effectiveness of the Means Testing Instrument in terms of inconsistency in costing methodologies for university programmes, which calls for a unified approach to foster trust and ensure fairness,” he stated.
CS Ogamba, on Friday, September 13, said all students who reported for their first year of study had been admitted even as the schools await the disbursement of their loans and scholarships.