Gov’t Releases Ksh.14.4B For First Year Students Scholarships and Loans
The second batch of Ksh.14.4 billion has been released by the government for scholarships and loans to first-year students in public universities as part of the new Higher Education Funding Model.
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu disclosed this information on Thursday, revealing that eligible students are those who successfully applied through the recently launched financing portal.
In a statement, CS Machogu explained that the funds will not only benefit first-year students but also the 2023/2024 cohort of continuing students currently in their second semester. Notably, the disbursement marks the second phase of financial aid under the model introduced by President William Ruto in May.
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Breaking down the expenditure, Machogu outlined that Ksh.10.39 billion of the total amount will be channeled to the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), while Ksh.3.98 billion will be directed towards scholarships through the Universities Fund (UF). This brings the total government funding for first-year students to Ksh.23.6 billion.
It is important to mention that last month, CS Machogu announced the release of Ksh.3.9 billion for loans to the initial cohort of first-year students who completed their KCSE examinations in 2022.
Additionally, in October of the previous year, Ksh.5.3 billion was disbursed for student loans, and in September 2023, Ksh.10.3 billion was released to HELB for continuing student loans in universities and TVET colleges.
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Notably, the disbursement of funds to students is determined through the recently implemented Means Testing Instrument (MTI), which assesses the level of financial need for each student.
Gov’t Releases Ksh.14.4B For First Year Students Scholarships and Loans
