A defining academic year for students in public universities starts this month as their institutions prepare for the implementation of a friendlier government fee plan announced last month.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba announced reduced fees in undergraduate programmes in public universities in what was seen as a move to calm parents and students who blame the controversial Student-Centred Funding Model for the calamitous three-year mess in the learning institutions.
After the minister made the announcement last week, universities moved to put on hold their older higher fee structures with the intention of reviewing them to reflect the order.
Targeted beneficiaries of the reviewed fee plan are students in their second and third years, who will be joined by first years who sat the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination last year.
The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service has placed about 200,000 KCSE 2024 students to various universities.
The cohort is applying for loans and scholarships offered through the Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) and the Universities Fund, respectively.
Mr Ogamba told students that the fee reductions were significant, with some courses undergoing cuts of more than 40 per cent.
It is understood that students in some programmes will pay as little as Sh9,720 per academic year, welcome news should other charges not be imposed by universities.
Given the controversy that has been visited on the student-centred funding model since its introduction, many people are likely to adopt a wait-and-see attitude as the fee reforms take effect.
The plan follows a two-year muddle, in which the student-centred funding model – rolled out amid pomp and fanfare in March 2023 – faced rejection from students, politicians and activists.
Lobbies moved to the High Court and caused the nullification of the model. However, the government appealed the case and was given temporary window to continue implementing the plan as the case progressed in the Appellate Court.
Keen to make amends, President William Ruto formed a National Committee on Review of the New University Education Funding Model that collected and collated views on the scheme to ensure it accommodates views from to all stakeholders.
The proposed new fees structure, therefore, is seen as an offshoot of the committee’s proposals and will be keenly watched with the hope that, finally, it will restore stability in higher education.
The committee was headed by former Principal Secretary in charge of University Education Micheni Ntiba.
With the highest ever number of first-year students expected to join universities this year, the funding shortfall in higher education would likely spiral, amid a glaring budgeting nightmare.
This financial year, the government has allocated Sh41.5 billion to the Helb for the provision of loans to university and TVET students, and a further Sh16.9 billion for scholarships for university students, disbursed through the Universities Fund.
Recently, Helb Chief Executive Geoffrey Monari said the loans scheme had been underfunded, though he expressed confidence that there was still enough money to fund the eligible students.
Aside from the funds, the minister promised that the criteria used to award loans and scholarships had been reviewed to address complaints regarding its accuracy and efficiency in the banding formula of applicants.
Over the last two years, there were claims that some needy and vulnerable students ended up being placed in bands that did not reflect the economic realities of their households, prompting a number of them to abandon studies.
It is now understood that the new Means Testing Instrument has been amended by introducing more refined criteria that would measure the economic standing of students with great precision.
Whether the new fee reforms will restore confidence among Kenyans regarding the student-centred funding model remains to be seen.
Dr Siringi is senior lecturer, University of Nairobi
