Fee arrears shocker awaits 0.5M university students over State funding delay
By Print Reporter, August 9, 2025Thousands of students in public universities have found themselves saddled with fee balances ranging between Ksh40,000 and Ksh200,000, arising from the government’s failure to disburse funds for the second semester of last year.
Besides the fees, the students are also in rent arrears as the government did not also disburse funds for upkeep during the period the new universities funding model had been halted by the court.
Though the chairman of the Vice Chancellors’ Committee, Prof Daniel Mugendi, assured parents and students that they are engaging the government to convert the accrued arrears into pending bills, some universities have already notified their respective learners to bear the burden.
Already, the fee balances are reflected in the students’ portals, with some universities threatening to bar students unable to clear the balances from sitting examinations in the coming semester.
According to sources within the Vice Chancellors’ Committee, 583,225 students across public universities have been affected by the delayed government funding.
Of these, 134,743 students enrolled during the September 2023 intake, while 448,482 joined universities in 2024.
Internal memos
Many are now faced with fee balances ranging from Ksh40,000 to Ksh200,000, already posted on their student portals.
Several universities have issued internal memos informing students they will not be allowed to sit for exams unless they clear their balances.
Some institutions have taken a softer approach, allowing students to continue attending lectures but warning that graduation will not be possible unless outstanding balances are settled
Mugendi said the fee arrears arose after the government approved a student scholarship and loan budget with a Ksh17.9 billion deficit — comprising Ksh10 billion meant for the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) and Ksh7.9 billion for the University Scholarship Fund (UF).
Mugendi says the deficit was supposed to be appropriated in a supplementary budget in the National Assembly, which never materialised, leading to the current anomaly.
But reached for comment, Higher Education Principal Secretary Dr Beatrice Muganda Inyangala declined to comment and instead referred us to Mugendi.
“Please talk to the chair of the Vice-Chancellors. For further inquiries, our doors remain open. We welcome collaboration between the State Department and the media,” Inyangala said in a short text message.
The situation has sparked frustration among students and parents, who accuse the government of reneging on its commitment to make university education affordable and accessible.
“We applied for funding, and we were told we qualified. The government disbursed the funding for the first year very well, but trouble erupted in the first semester of year two when the court temporarily halted the new model,” says Brian Otieno, a third-year economics student.
“Now we’re being punished for something that’s not our fault.”
Student unions, including the Kenya University Students Organisation (KUSO), have demanded immediate intervention, accusing the Ministry of Education of mismanaging the funding rollout.
“This is not just a financial issue — it’s a rights issue,” said one senior KUSO official who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. “You can’t preach equity then abandon students mid-year.”
Thousands of the students have run into rent arrears as well as debts from eateries and other facilities during the time.
Investigations reveal the arrears arose when the government failed to disburse allocated funds during the period the court had suspended the new funding model.
In October 2024, the new public university funding model faced legal hurdles when High Court Judge Chacha Mwita declared it unconstitutional, terming it discriminatory, since all Kenyan students have a right to education.
Funding public universities
The court further ruled that it is the government’s responsibility to fund public universities, and passing that responsibility to parents violated the Constitution and the principle of legitimate expectation.
The judge emphasised the need for public participation before the model’s implementation, noting that legislative proposals were required and should have been tabled in Parliament.
“It should have been subjected to the public so that the public could comment before its implementation,” the court noted.
The case had been filed by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), Elimu Bora Working Group, and the Students’ Caucus in 2024, arguing that the model was unconstitutional and did not prioritise needy students.
Petitioners argued that the model created confusion in TVET course selection, with students facing delays due to unclear directives from the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS).
“The variable scholarship and loan funding model is arbitrary, obscure, expensive, undefined and illegal — an affront to the right to education as part of economic and social rights,” part of the petition read.
“The respondents have accordingly acted illegally and ultra vires in the implementation of the funding model to the detriment of hundreds of thousands of university and TVET students and their families.”
Following the ruling, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba directed the Attorney General, HELB, the Trustees of the Universities Fund Kenya, and KUCCPS to halt implementation.
But after a six-month pause, the Court of Appeal stayed the High Court order and allowed the new model’s implementation.
However, the appellate court directed the Attorney General, HELB, and KUCCPS to publicise the funding framework within 14 days to all universities and colleges, as well as to current university students, incoming students, and those applying to join in the next placement cycle.
Upon resumption of funding, the government failed to clear the arrears accumulated between October and March, when the model had been halted.
In many cases, students who had successfully appealed and moved from Band Five (high-income households) to Band One (low-income households) ended up receiving funds allocated for Band Five and are now being asked to pay the difference.
Funding model
Launched in 2023, the new funding model replaced the old Uniform Funding Model, which gave equal support to all students regardless of financial status.
The government used a means testing instrument that considers socio-economic indicators such as household income, geographic location, poverty levels, number of dependents, and special circumstances like disabilities.
According to President Ruto, the means testing instrument ensures equitable resource allocation and directs aid to students most in need.
Band One comprises the extremely needy and vulnerable, who receive 70% scholarships, 25% loans, and contribute 5% from their households.
These students also receive an upkeep allowance of Ksh60,000 per semester.
Band Two includes low-income students, allocated 50% scholarships, 30% loans, and a Ksh50,000 loan, while their households contribute 5%.
Band Three, representing students from modest-income families, receive 50% scholarships, 30% loans, and Ksh50,000 upkeep, while contributing 10% of the fees.
Students in Bands Four and Five, considered middle- and high-income earners, pay 40% and 20% of tuition fees, respectively.
They receive 30% loans and between Ksh40,000 and Ksh45,000 as upkeep.
Prof. Mugendi explains that the arrears stemmed from insufficient funding allocated to both HELB and UF, which was inadequate to clear the entire backlog.
“There should be no cause for worry because we have already requested the government to acknowledge that universities incurred the expenses and should therefore convert the debts into pending bills,” Prof. Mugendi told PD Wikendi, insisting that no student should be asked to pay.
Prof. Mugendi, who also serves as Vice Chancellor of Meru University, warns that pending bills, which had declined following the new model’s introduction, are once again increasing.
He says universities — including 23 that had been in financial distress — had reduced pending bills to around Sh63 billion by January this year, but that figure has now climbed to Ksh83 billion.
He cautions that unless the government allocates sufficient funds promptly, pending bills could soar to an all-time high of Ksh150 billion by June next year.
Despite Prof. Mugendi’s reassurances, some senior university lecturers warn that unless funding is regularised urgently, universities may be forced to cut services, delay exams, or increase reliance on student contributions — all of which would undermine the principle of affordable public education.
“Universities are now carrying a burden they were not designed to shoulder,” said a vice chancellor who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The government must act swiftly — or risk a full-blown crisis.”