The government has recently unveiled the revised fee structure for new university students, delineating the amounts they will be required to pay per university per course. While some students will be exempt from paying fees directly, they will need to secure student loans to cover the remaining costs. This could potentially exacerbate debt burdens for Kenyan students, particularly given the backdrop of high unemployment rates.

The Ministry of Education has asserted that the new funding model aims to increase university admissions and alleviate the financial strain faced by institutions grappling with mounting debts and outstanding bills.

Under the new model, students will be categorized into different levels of need, namely vulnerable, extremely needy, needy, and less needy. This classification system will allow students to access scholarships and loans from the substantial funds allocated by the government.

The classification criteria are as follows: the vulnerable category encompasses students with no household income, the extremely needy have a monthly household income of Ksh23,671, the needy fall within the Ksh23,672 to Ksh70,000 monthly income bracket, and the less needy have a household income of Ksh70,001 to Ksh200,000.

To assess the level of need, the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) will apply its Means Testing Instrument, considering factors such as parental background, gender, course type, previous school attended, education expenses, family size and composition, marginalization, and disability.

A statement from the ministry highlighted that the total funding requirement for the New Funding Model stands at Ksh39.4 billion for the Financial Year 2023/2024. In support of this model, the government has already increased resources by Ksh12.5 billion in the current fiscal year. The existing funding gap of Ksh18.6 billion will be addressed during Supplementary 1 of the Financial Year 2023/2024.

Students are granted until September 7 to apply for loans and scholarships, failure to which they risk exclusion. Applications can be submitted through the official website hef.co.ke, and the application process is free of charge.

The verification process takes seven days, followed by a day for fund allocation, with disbursement aligned to university opening dates.

As of August 23, 2023, a total of 75,272 successful applications have been received from