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Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has moved to defend the new university funding model, saying he was working to address its “teething problems”.

Universities, he said, should admit students as the government processes appeals lodged by some applicants.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the Murang’a University of Technology, Ogamba said he had directed the two agencies that fund higher education – the Higher Education Loans Board and Universities Funding Kenya – to process the appeals and release the results in three weeks’ time.

“I acknowledge we’re are having teething problems with the new programme where some students were placed in bands that don’t reflect their economic status but [the issues are] being sorted out,” said Ogamba.

The government, he said, had started disbursing funds to universities and the process will close by August 30.

Bursaries awarded

“Already, 130,000 first-year students have been awarded bursaries and scholarships, and the money set aside for this lot is Sh28.3 billion,” he added.

The funding, he said, will address numerous challenges in higher learning institutions that saw them accrue debts of Sh70 billion in the 2022/2023 financial year.

The new model, he said, aligns better with the diverse needs of students and ensures financial support is distributed equally.

“I urge universities to work closely with the government during this transitional period,” he added.

“By effectively communicating the principles of the model, universities can dispel the misconceptions about it and this will help build trust and ensure it benefits all the students.”