Students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are still paying full university fees under the new university funding model have been asked to seek help from the Ministry of Education.
The Principal Secretary for Higher Education and Research, Dr Beatrice Inyangala, said that under the new funding system, learners from low-income backgrounds would only have to pay five per cent of their total university fees.
The new system, she says, applies to all first-year students who joined tertiary institutions in the September 2023 intake.
"I urge all first year students who are yet to benefit from the new funding scheme to visit the offices of the Ministry of Education, our offices are always open to you," said Dr Inyangala.
The PS said the new system is aimed at ensuring that all less privileged learners continue to enjoy their right to education.
According to Dr Inyangala, the system also aims to ensure that deserving learners are not stopped from pursuing their dream courses.
The PS, who was speaking during the 23rd graduation ceremony at Maseno University on Friday, said in previous years, several students were denied access to courses, including medicine, due to the high cost of fees.
"In the past, many could not study medicine because of the high fees and now many of you know that the cost of the programme at Maseno University for example is Sh613,000 but the government covers 95 per cent of the cost for families in the lowest income bracket," said Dr Inyangala.
Under the new funding scheme, a student from a poor background will only have to pay a fee of Sh15,000 per semester at the tertiary institution.
The same applies to Bachelor of Arts students, who pay only five per cent of the total fee, which is Sh122,000.
"Your child will no longer be locked out of the most promising programme because of cost, the government is your partner," said Dr Inyangala.
Meanwhile, the Vice Chancellor of Maseno University, Julius Nyabundi, has appealed to the Ministry of Education to help build new structures at the learning institution.
According to Prof Nyabundi, the university has been operating from the old buildings initially put up for the Siriba University Teachers College.
He said although the institution started constructing four new buildings four years ago, two of them have stalled due to lack of funds.
"If you look around, distinguished guests, what you see is the old Siriba Teachers Training College. We have been here for 30 years, first as a college and now as a full-fledged institution. I think we could have done better and we will continue to appeal to you to help us do that," said Prof Nyabundi.
