Higher education funding model faces tough test as student numbers surge
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Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba (center) addresses the media during the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) stakeholders' forum for the release of the 2026 university and college placement results in Nairobi on July 8, 2026.
Photo credit:
Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
Currently, 437,648 students are funded under the student-centred funding model introduced in 2023.
About 8,915 university-qualified students opted to pursue TVET programmes instead of degree courses.
The higher education funding model that was introduced in 2023 after President William Ruto assumed power faces its biggest test yet as a rise in university enrolment stretches government resources, exposing funding gaps and fresh questions about its sustainability.
Official data shows the number of students placed to join universities has increased from about 70,000 in 2017 to the 202,133 who were placed this year, representing a rise of more than 300 per cent in less than a decade. The rapid expansion has significantly increased demand for more financing at a time when public universities are grappling with mounting debts.
