Faced with the dilemma of nationwide university students’ unrest and compliance with a court order, the government has reverted to the old funding model to send the money to the students’ accounts, adding to a growing list of U-turns following stalled controversial new policies.
In what is becoming a trend for the Kenya Kwanza government to revert back to the old order it seeks to replace, after changes run into headwinds, first and second-year students received the cash for upkeep after going for one month without government support
“We decided to pay the students under the old funding model. So their upkeep has gone and by this morning, I think about Sh3.7 billion was put into their accounts. By the end of the day, they would have received their money. It is a stop-gap measure to ease the suffering of the students but the universities have not been paid,” said Joseph King’ori Ndegwa, the lending manager at the Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) when a group of students stormed the headquarters demanding the money to be released on Monday morning.
Mr Ndegwa explained that Helb disbursed money for university students’ upkeep to avert a crisis even as the government awaits the outcome of an appeal it has lodged against a ruling that declared the new funding model unlawful.
Although Mr Ndegwa said that the board had used the old differentiated unit cost (DUC) model to disburse the money, details of the money sent to the students suggest that it is a balance of what Helb ought to have given them under the model quashed by the High Court.
It therefore raises questions about whether the government has acted in defiance of the court ruling that the State should not use the model to fund tertiary education.
The reversal to the old funding model adds to a growing list of U-turns to old systems after new government policies stall in controversy.
When it was introduced last year, technical glitches marring an information system of the Social Health Authority (SHA) sparked uproar among patients prompting authorities to direct hospitals to revert to an old scheme under the defunct National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).
But this, too, was short-lived as hospitals were later ordered to turn to manual processing of claims as a stop-gap measure as authorities explored rehiring a private firm that had offered the claims processing service prior to SHA rollout in October 2024.
Eventually, Savannah Informatics, a local private firm with expertise in processing hospital claims, was re-hired to deal with approval delays that plagued the multi-billion-shilling Integrated Healthcare Information Technology System by a consortium led by a local giant telco.
The government resorted to Savannah Informatics – with insiders citing an additional cost of Sh1 billion- after a consortium led by Safaricom PLC alongside Apiero Limited and Konvergenz Network Solutions Limited failed to deliver a functional claims-processing system.
In yet another case of reversal to old ways, officials have struggled to enforce the single payment platform for government services – eCitizen Paybill Number 222222 – because of the delays to verify payments that have particularly inconvenienced patients in public hospitals and importers seeking clearance from the drugs regulator.
Last November, President William Ruto issued a stern warning to 34 chief executives of State corporations that were yet to comply with the directive on one-stop payments for government services.
The courts have, however, temporarily suspended the order to have the agencies migrate services to the eCitizen digital platform or to punish the parastatal chiefs.
Outside Helb headquarters at Anniversary Towers, students disrupted traffic along the busy University Way.
“The reason for the delay is that there was a court case, and the ruling prohibited any action on the implementation of the new funding model. What we have done over the last two weeks, we have looked at how else we can pay,” Mr Ndegwa said.
According to Mr Ndegwa, the reason Helb resorted to the old model is the need to ensure that students are well taken care of even as case goes on in court to streamline areas that had been faulted by the High Court as impediments to students.
“The total number of students affected countrywide is about 180,000 but many are first years and second years. We are appealing to the students who have issues other than the funds to talk to us,” he said.
He maintained that third-year and fourth-year students received their money in December last year and January, and that the issue being raised of some students being unable to access their portals should be addressed by the institutions.
According to the University of Nairobi student leaders led by Rocha Madzao, the delay has negatively impacted their lives on campus since some students are unable to sustain themselves.
“Most of these students and their friends in the hostels have no money. For a whole month now, they have been taken through circles and rounds. Let them tell us when they will give us our money because we are having a difficult time. We cannot study on an empty stomach,” Mr Madzao said.
Sarah Awuor, a student at Kenyatta University said the money had not reflected in her account by Monday afternoon, despite being notified by Helb that her upkeep allocation of Sh22,000 had been processed.
“I have received a message that Sh22,000 has been disbursed into my account, but the money has not reflected. This time, the money is less by Sh500. I received Sh22,500 in September,” Ms Awuor said.
Michelle Adhiambo said that she has been struggling to access the portal since last week, and she has not received any money.
“I have been trying to log into my account but I’m being told that I cannot access it,” Ms Adhiambo said.
