Kisii University is among the public universities that have doubled their numbers in student enrollment this year.
According to The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS), Kisii university will receive 8, 632 students against 7, 723 it got last year.
Kenyatta University will enroll 7, 968 under the new university funding model up from 6, 640 it got last year. Maseno University will get 7, 702 students up from 6, 204 it received in the previous year.
University of Nairobi will get some 6, 932 students up from 5, 786 it got in the previous admission. JKUAT will receive 6, 917 students slightly higher than 6, 471 that it got last year.
Turkana University College which received only 242 students in the last admission will now get 1, 095 students; this is almost four times the number it got in 2022.
Bomet University College also benefited big in this year’s admission after it scooped 1, 953 from the previous 917 students it got in the last admission exercise.
Karatina University will also see a significant increase in the number of new entrants as it is set to admit 4, 750 students, last year, it received 2, 567 students.
Koitalel Samoei University College last year received only 440 students but this year, it will get 830 new admissions.
Other universities that recorded significant increase in the number of new students include Taita Taveta University that will get 1, 167 students from the previous 390 in 2022.
Tharaka University will get 1, 707 from 1, 118. Maasai Mara University also registered a significant improvement, bagging 4, 394 new entrants from the previously 2, 554.
Similarly, Laikipia University recorded an increase from 2, 058 in the last admission to 3, 099.
Speaking in Naivasha during a media sensation forum on the new funding model, Dr. Wahome also noted that a significant drop was witnessed among the number of students joining private universities from the previous 20, 000 to less than 10, 000 this year.
According to Kenya Association of Private Universities Chairman Stephen Mbugua, the dip in numbers could force some private institutions to close shop since others got less than 10 students.
“The numbers are so low that they are not sustainable to make our universities move to the next five years,” Mbugua said.
Apparently, the new model replaces the previous model where the government provides grants to universities that admitted government sponsored students.
The government will now provide subsidies to students’ tuition fees through scholarships and student loans through this model but private universities will not be eligible for the scholarships.
By Thuita Jaswant
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