Urgently solve varsity students’ funding crisis
The university students’ funding quagmire continues to rattle the higher education sector, which holds the key to the high-level manpower the country needs for national development and prosperity.
Students who qualify to join university have demonstrated their potential and should be rewarded by opening avenues to secure funding and pursue pathways that build knowledge, competence, and skills.
Thousands of students have joined universities unsure how they will fund their studies as the government overhauls the higher education financing model. The crisis threatens national development by shutting capable students out of higher education, underscoring the need to restructure funding to ensure access for all qualified learners.
The government plans to replace the student-centred funding model introduced in 2023 with one where all public university and TVET students receive loans, repayable after graduation and employment.
Meanwhile, students must meet immediate costs as they await funding guidelines. Many families cannot afford fees and rely on scholarships, loans or both.
President William Ruto recently announced a shift to 100 per cent universal government funding for higher education, making parental fee contributions optional. However, as public funds are scarce, there is a need to encourage corporate sponsorships, industry-funded research, and paid student internships to ease the burden.
This system works so well in developed countries. It can be boosted by building long-term investment portfolios funded by alumni networks and philanthropic organisations. Also possible is partnering with commercial banks to offer subsidised State-guaranteed education loans. Higher education officials should urgently resolve the funding crisis to spare the students, their poor parents and guardians the agony of being forced by universities to pay fees to meet their expenses.
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