2022 KCSE Students to Miss Funding as Govt Plans to End Sponsorship of Private University Students
The Kenyan government is planning to end the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) program, which places government-sponsored students at private universities, in a bid to help debt-ridden public universities.
The National Assembly Education Committee, chaired by Julius Melly, proposed the plan on March 9, stating that placing government-sponsored students in private universities is costly and unnecessary.
The committee noted that private universities had received Ksh8.7 million as capitation for government-sponsored students since 2017, but no audit has ever been done to determine how the funds were used.
According to the committee, public universities charge around Ksh16,000 per semester, while private universities charge an average of Ksh100,000. Therefore, the committee deemed it unfair to place already disadvantaged students in private universities.
The committee further revealed that financial capitation to private universities has been increasing every year, resulting in a loss of much-needed funding for public universities.
In the 2017/2018 financial year, a total of Ksh1.56 billion was disbursed towards the program, while in the 2020/2021 financial year, a total of Ksh2.7 billion was disbursed.
The committee proposed that KUCCPS should place all government-sponsored students in public universities. Tinderet lawmaker Melly, who chairs the committee, announced that from 2022, the government would not extend funding to private universities.
However, the government would continue to sponsor students who were already in the program.
Melly added that any future engagement between private universities and the government would only be based on policy, and there would be no admission of government-sponsored students in private universities.
The move comes after 30,088 students who scored C+ in the 2022 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination were poised to miss government funding.
University Fund Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey Monari stated that everyone who scored C+ and above would get university placement through KUCCPS, but funding would be determined by merit, the level of need, national priorities, and affirmative action.
2022 KCSE Students to Miss Funding as Govt Plans to End Sponsorship of Private University Students