- The Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill, 2026 has proposed a savings scheme allowing parents to save directly toward a named child’s university and college education.
- The Bill has introduced tougher penalties for employers who fail to deduct and remit student loan repayments, including a 5% monthly penalty on unpaid amounts.
- The proposed law has required new employees to disclose outstanding student loans and has capped loan deductions at 25% of an employee’s emoluments.
Parents could soon be allowed to save directly towards their children’s university and college education under a proposed law seeking to overhaul the financing of tertiary education.
The Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill, 2026, sponsored by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, proposes the creation of a savings scheme through which individuals would make contributions specifically for the tertiary education of a named child.
The scheme would be administered by the proposed Tertiary Education Funding Authority, which would be responsible for establishing and managing the savings product.
However, the proposed legislation does not provide details on how the scheme would operate. It does not specify the minimum or maximum contributions, returns on savings, conditions for accessing the money or how the funds would be managed.
The Bill also introduces tougher requirements for employers involved in recovering student loans.
Employers who fail to deduct and remit student loan repayments would face a penalty of five per cent for every month that the outstanding amount remains unpaid.
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Employers would be required to remit deducted amounts within nine days after the end of each month, with the deductions capped at 25 per cent of an employee’s emoluments.
Any amount that remains unpaid would be recoverable from the employer as a civil debt.
The proposed law would also require employees joining formal employment to disclose whether they have outstanding student loans.
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Workers in the informal sector, meanwhile, would be expected to agree on repayment arrangements with the proposed Tertiary Education Funding Authority.
The proposals are contained in a broader attempt to establish a new framework for student placement and financing in universities, colleges and other tertiary institutions.
If enacted, the law would introduce new options for families seeking to plan for the cost of higher education while also strengthening mechanisms for recovering loans issued to students.
By Jonathan Mwinzi
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