The government has disbursed the first batch of Ksh.3.9 billion for scholarships to first-year students in public universities under the New Higher Education Funding Model.
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu announced on Saturday, stating that the funds will assist government-sponsored students who successfully applied through the recently opened Higher Education Financing Portal.
“Beneficiaries of the scholarships are those who successfully made their applications through the Higher Education Financing Portal (www.hef.co.ke) that was launched on August 31, 2023,” CS Machogu said in a press release.
The CS announced that all universities would receive the cash deposit by Monday next week, benefiting a total of 115,892 first-year students who successfully enrolled for scholarships by the November 29, 2023, application deadline.
“The Universities Fund will disburse the Sh3.9 billion directly to individual universities for the successful applicants to cover their tuition fees based on the student’s individual needs under the New Funding Model,” he said.
“All universities will receive the scholarship portions for their respective students by December 4, 2023.”
According to the CS, the government disbursed a total of Ksh. 9.2 billion to first-year students under President William Ruto’s New Model.
The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) also released Ksh. 5.3 billion last month for loans to the first cohort of first-year students who completed their KCSE in 2022.
The recently developed Means Testing Instrument (MTI) determined students’ contributions by measuring their level of financial need.