- PS Beatrice Inyangala has urged universities to continue admitting first-year students as the Tertiary Education, Placement and Funding Bill, 2026 remains before Parliament.
- About 195,000 of an expected 200,000 government-placed students have reported to institutions, with VCs reporting rates above 90 per cent at several universities.
Higher Education Principal Secretary Dr Beatrice Inyangala has urged universities to admit first-year students and ensure that vulnerable learners are supported as the government finalises the funding process.
Speaking during a consultative meeting with Vice-Chancellors on implementing the Kenya National Qualifications Framework (KNQF), held at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), Inyangala said the ongoing transition should not stop learners from beginning their academic year.
“The universities are supporting students who are very needy and vulnerable to settle down. The students should join universities as we wait for the processing of the bill,” she said.
The Tertiary Education, Placement and Funding Bill, 2026, currently before Parliament, proposes a new funding framework that would see the Tertiary Education Funding Authority (TEFA) take over functions currently handled by the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), the Universities Fund and other financing bodies. The proposed law is designed to replace the student-centred funding model introduced in 2023, restructuring how scholarships and loans are combined and disbursed to learners in public universities, colleges and TVET institutions.
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Inyangala said that once the Bill is finalised, parents and guardians will receive clear guidance on how the new funding model will work.
“I want to allay the fears of any parents, any guardians, any students about payment,” she said, adding that the proposal to have all students funded had already been published and was now before Parliament.
The funding transition comes against a backdrop of a widening gap between what students are applying for and what the government has been able to disburse. Figures from the Universities Fund show that by August 20, 2026, a total of 159,551 applications had been submitted through the Higher Education Financing (HEF) portal, with 149,761 of these seeking a combined scholarship-and-loan package, 642 applying for scholarship only, and the remainder seeking loans only.
The scale of demand has grown sharply from the previous cycle, when more than 408,879 students applied for scholarships and loans. Funding requirements have climbed alongside applications, rising from about Sh17 billion in the 2024/2025 financial year to a projected Sh19 billion this year, according to Universities Fund data, deepening pressure on an already strained financing system.
Despite the funding uncertainty, Inyangala reported strong turnout figures, saying about 195,000 of an expected 200,000 government-placed students had reported to institutions, with the remainder expected to join TVET colleges or study abroad.
“The response has been very good. The message has sunk in and the parents that we have talked to have understood that the students will go to school, the students will learn, and further guidance will be provided,” she said.
On the question of upkeep for students still awaiting funding decisions, Inyangala said most households had continued to cover accommodation privately or secure it within university hostels, with universities supporting extremely vulnerable students through internal “needy kitty” welfare funds. “I would say that nothing much has changed in terms of the supports that are available to students against what households have contributed traditionally as of now,” she said.
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Prof. Daniel Mugendi, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Embu and Chair of the Vice-Chancellors Forum for Public Universities, backed the PS’s assessment, saying that many universities were reporting rates above 90 per cent.
Mugendi said students requiring government support had been advised to continue applying through existing scholarship and loan channels. At the same time, the Bill is processed, while those able to pay privately could proceed to do so.
Addressing questions on delayed HELB disbursements, Inyangala confirmed the funds were being processed. “The process is being finalised as it is going on, and once it is finalised, we will be able to release the funds,” she said, adding that students should expect to receive their money within the coming week.
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