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Thousands of university students scrambled to apply for loans and scholarships a day after the government extended the deadline for applications.

The ministry of education said the Kenya Universities and College Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) received a total of 4,884 new applications from university entrants seeking loans and scholarships in just one day.

“I’m bundling this misinformation and disinformation is bearing fruit because in just one day, the number of applications has increased by 6% from 79,038 applicants we now have 83,922 applicants,” said Beatrice Inyangala, the Higher Education and Research Principal Secretary.

Dr Inyangala said that part of the reason why there had been a low number of university students applying for the loans and scholarships was due to wrong information that had been peddled including reports that one needed to have a national identity card to apply for the funding.

Deadline granted

Before the 10-day extension of the deadline granted by the government on Tuesday, KUCCPS had only received 79,038 applications from the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) cohort, with another 74,237 students yet to submit their applications for funding, said Dr Inyangala.

She said the reasons why a lot of students had not applied for the funding was due to misinformation, disinformation and lack of identity cards.

According to Dr Inyangala, students below the age of eighteen could still apply for the loans and scholarships using their KCSE index number and a copy of their birth certificate while those over 18 years old can apply with their identity card or waiting card.

“The ministry, in line with the government’s commitment to making government services more accessible, transparent, and efficient, has digitized the application processes and has provided an online platform to facilitate application,” said Dr Inyangala.

Increased scholarships

The ministry says the funding model includes provisions for increased scholarships and bursaries for students from vulnerable backgrounds to ensure that every qualified student has an opportunity to pursue higher education.

The model, according to the government, is designed to help bridge the gap between the rich and the poor and create a more inclusive education system.

She explained that the new system will be able to capture the actual income of the parents or guidance which will help the ministry in placing students in different bands since in the past they never made use of the income.

“The new funding model, what we call the student centered model, has brought in new change. Like I’m a professor, perhaps RA here, my friend here is a primary school teacher. Our incomes are very different. So, in the new funding model that we are going to release this time, you will take into consideration your income,” she said.

“We are working very closely together to make education affordable and none of them will violate this structure as articulated in the new funding model for higher education,” said Dr Inyangala.