In the upcoming academic year of 2023/24, the Kenyan government will be offering full sponsorship to 42,144 students who will be placed in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions.
This is out of the 145,325 learners who sat the 2022 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and are expected to join TVET institutions in the next intake starting in September.
The funding for these students will be based on the level of need, promoting equity and inclusivity.
All trainees are eligible for financial assistance and will join one of the 238 institutions spread across the country once they have been placed by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) to TVETs.
Once placed, the institutions will issue an admission letter and direct the students to the funding application link.
To avoid multiple funding of the same person and to promote a more effective funding and sponsorship process, Principal Secretary, Dr Esther Muoria, has called for the need to consolidate all trainee support through funding and sponsorship to a central unit.
She also recommended a review of the model every four years or on a need basis. However, ongoing trainees will continue with the old modes for now.
The new funding model for higher education will commence with the new cohort of 173,127 students joining universities and 145,325 joining TVETs.
To prevent fraudsters from obtaining funding, the Higher Education Loans Board’s (HELB) Mean Testing Instrument (MTI) will be adopted, which scores trainees based on eight parameters: parent’s background, gender weights, course type, previous school attended, family’s expenditure on education, family size and composition, marginalization, and disabilities.
Funding is based on the actual cost of the programme, which is Sh67,189. On average, 58% of the cost will be a government scholarship, 32% will be a government loan, and 10% will be a household contribution.
Students will be categorized according to four levels of need: vulnerable, extremely needy, needy, and less needy.
Those in the vulnerable category will receive 80% of government sponsorship and 20% of the loan, which means that they are fully covered. Similarly, those in the extremely needy category will receive 70% of government sponsorship and 30% of the loan.
Finally, those in the needy category will receive 50% of government sponsorship, 30% loan, and 20% household contribution.
Overall, the new funding model for higher education in Kenya promotes inclusivity and equity while also providing a centralized system for more effective funding and sponsorship.
