The Government has released Ksh.14.4 Billion as the second tranche to cover scholarships and loans for Government-sponsored first-year students in universities under the New Higher Education Funding Nlodel. The loans will also cover semester two 2023/2024 Academic Year loans for continuing students.

Of the total amount, Ksh.10.39 Billion will go towards loans under the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) while Ksh3.98 Billion will be disbursed for scholarships through the Universities Fund (UF).

This brings to Ksh.23.6 Billion the total amount released by the Government for loans and scholarships to First Year students since they joined their respective universities starting September 2023.

In October last year, the Government disbursed Ksh.5.3 Billion for student loans and a further Ksh3.9 Billion for scholarships for first years under the New Funding Model and Ksh10.3 Billion was released to Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) in September 2023 to cater for continuing students loans in Universities and TVET colleges.

Beneficiaries of the First Year loans and scholarships are those who successfully made their applications through the Higher Education Financing portal (www.hef.co.ke) that we officially launched on the 31 of August 2023.

The KSh.I4.4 Billion will be disbursed based on the applicant’s level of need under the New Funding Model.

Under the model, the Universities Fund will disburse funds directly to individual universities for the successful candidates to cover their tuition fees.

On its part, HELB will disburse tuition loans directly to respective universities/colleges and upkeep loans to the respective student bank accounts or mobile phone numbers. Universities will receive the scholarship portions for their respective students by Friday, January 19th, 2024.

The categorization of students was realized through a reliable scientific method, Means Testing Instrument (NTI), used to determine the student’s level of financial need, to ensure they are supported adequately. The New Higher Education Funding Model applies to the students who sat for KCSE from the year 2022 going forward.

Candidates who sat for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Examination in 2023 will form the second cohort of students to be subjected to the new funding model.

The Ministry of Education wishes to express the Government’s unwavering commitment to promoting access to university education and providing financial support to students, to ensure no one is left behind.

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