- The Government has extended the deadline for first-time university and TVET students to apply for funding from August 31 to September 21, 2026.
- MoE has confirmed receiving 789,422 applications by the initial deadline, with Sh22.12 billion already disbursed to continuing students.
- Ogamba has indicated that transitional funding mechanisms will follow once Parliament passes the Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill.
The Government has extended the deadline for first-time university students and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) trainees to apply for government funding, giving thousands of eligible learners an additional opportunity to secure financial support for their studies.
In a press statement dated September 3, 2026, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba said the initial application window for first-time applicants closed on August 31, 2026. By the time the deadline elapsed, the Government had received 789,422 applications for funding from university students and TVET trainees.
Recognising that some eligible applicants may have been unable to submit their applications within the initial period for various reasons, the Universities Fund and the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) have been directed to extend the application window to September 21, 2026. The Ministry has urged all eligible first-time applicants joining universities and TVET institutions to take advantage of the extended period and submit their applications promptly.
The funding will be processed under the current Student-Centred Funding Model, which provides financial support based on the assessed needs of individual students. The Government has already disbursed Sh22.12 billion in first-semester and term funding to continuing university students and TVET trainees.
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Ogamba further clarified that applications from first-time applicants will continue to be considered and processed under the existing funding model. He said appropriate transitional mechanisms would be implemented once Parliament passes the Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill, 2026.
The Bill, currently before the National Assembly, proposes establishing a Tertiary Education Funding Authority (TEFA) to consolidate the functions currently performed by HELB, the Universities Fund and the TVET Fund into a single financing body. It also proposes reforms to the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS), including stricter placement timelines, and introduces a loan-based funding arrangement under which government-sponsored students would receive up to full funding, repayable after they secure employment.
Higher Education Principal Secretary Dr Beatrice Inyangala has previously urged universities to continue admitting first-year students even as the Bill remains before Parliament, noting that the transition to the new framework should not disrupt the current academic year.
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The extension of the application deadline is intended to ensure that eligible first-time learners are not locked out of government funding because they missed the initial cut-off, as thousands of students prepare to begin university and technical training programmes for the year. Students who have not yet submitted their applications now have until September 21, 2026, to apply for consideration.
By Our Reporter
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