Education cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has instructed the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) and the Universities Fund (UF) to launch the Higher Education Funding portal by June 15 2024. This decision aims to simplify the process, for students applying for loans and scholarships under President William Ruto’s New Funding Model introduced on May 3, 2023.
Machogu emphasized the significance of the process in providing assistance to students, thereby ensuring that they have access to education. “I have directed HELB and UF to open the Higher Education Funding portal on June 15 2024 to allow eligible students to seek funding ” Machogu announced.
Parents and guardians should take note that funding application outcomes will be disclosed by July 31 2024. New students are expected to commence their university journey based on their admission letters and enrollment instructions. Following the release of application results, universities will inform students about any contributions required from their families.
The initial group, under the New Funding Model launched in September 2023 saw success as all university and TVET institution students received government support. University students benefited from a disbursement of KSh24.76 billion while KSh11.3 billion was allocated for TVET trainees.
The funding helped a total of 112,741 university students and 151,933 TVET learners who applied through the Universities Fund and HELB.
“It’s noteworthy that for the time since implementing the cost sharing policy in education, all KCSE 2023 examination candidates received financial assistance to pursue their preferred programs ” Machogu highlighted.
The student focused funding approach encompasses scholarships, loans and contributions, from parents or guardians aiming to make higher education more attainable and economical for all qualifying students.