The fate of the university funding model will be known on Monday when the High Court rules on a case seeking to have it scrapped.
The case was filed last year by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), Elimu Bora Working Group, Boaz Waruku and the Students' Caucus. The ruling comes midway through the 2024-2025 academic year.
The petitioners sued the Attorney-General, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, the Higher Education Loans Board (Helb), the Trustees of the Universities Fund Kenya and the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS). The case is before Justice Chacha Mwita.
On October 3, 2024, the court issued conservatory orders temporarily halting the implementation of the model. The petitioners argue that the funding model is unconstitutional and violates the Constitution, and that President William Ruto issued an illegal presidential directive in creating it.
“The Variable Scholarship and Loan Funding Model is arbitrary, obscure, expensive, undefined and an illegality; an affront to the right to education as part of economic social rights,” the petition reads.
The model was introduced in 2023 following recommendations from the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER), which proposed various reforms across the education sector. The funding model is now in its second year of implementation. However, students already enrolled in public universities and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions at the time of its introduction were not affected.
Under the model, universities declare the cost of different academic programmes before students apply for placement and funding. Once placed by the KUCCPS, students are then funded through a combination of loans and scholarships. They are divided into five bands based on their family income and other economic variables.
Student loans are provided by the Helb, while scholarships are provided by the Universities Fund. Students must also apply for upkeep cash. Prior to the introduction of the model, qualified university and TVET students received automatic funding for their tuition fees and only applied for maintenance grants through Helb.
In September, President Ruto appointed a committee to review the funding and make recommendations within eight weeks. However, the committee has faced various challenges and has never submitted a progress report.
In their response, the government agencies argue that the funding model does not contravene the Constitution and that there was adequate public participation before its implementation.
“We submit that the model also promotes transparency in funding of tertiary education institutions and is in line with public fiscal responsibility principles,” the submission reads.
