Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Ezekiel Machogu has disclosed that since the start of the year, the government has disbursed Ksh67 million to public primary and secondary schools.
Through a press release dated October 5, 2023, the CS noted that the Free Primary Education (FPE) programme was allocated Ksh7.9 billion while JSS and free secondary education programme were allocated Ksh14.7 billion and Ksh44.4 billion respectively.
He further noted that the government allocated Ksh51.1 billion for TVET colleges and universities.
“On October 4, 2023, the government, through the Higher Education Loans Board, released Ksh10.5 billion for tuition and upkeep loans to continuing students in TVET colleges and universities, under the old funding model,” he said, adding that in September 2023, the government released grants worth Ksh8.4 billion as capitation to students in public universities and Ksh441 million for continuing students in private universities.
Ksh1.3 billion was released as capitation to continuing trainees in TVET colleges.
Machogu also revealed that on July 31, 2023, the government launched the student application process for higher education scholarships and loans for the 2022 KCSE cohort placed in TVET colleges and universities for the 2023/2024 academic year.
“The application deadline was extended to October 7, 2023 from September 7, 2023 to allow eligible applicants to apply,” he noted.
As of October 4, 2023, out of the 269,112 students placed by KUCCPS to universities and TVET institutions, only 238,714 had submitted applications for scholarships and loans.
The breakdown was as follows; 136,539 Undergraduate applications out of the expected 140,147 while TVET applications were 102,175 out of the expected 128,965 applications.
The CS urged all eligible students who are yet to apply to make formal applications through the Higher Education Financing portal, www.hef.co.ke.
He stated that the University Fund and HELB have started processing scholarships and bursaries for students who have applied.
“The government is committed to ensuring loans and scholarships are released to applicants on time to facilitate their learning,” he stated, further advising institutions of higher learning to admit students reporting without any fees.
By Rosemil Oduor
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