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HomeGovt Releases Ksh67 Billion Education Funds To Schools

Govt Releases Ksh67 Billion Education Funds To Schools

Govt Releases Ksh67 Billion Education Funds To Schools

The government has disbursed Sh67 billion to public primary and secondary education students beginning in January 2023.

Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Ezekiel Machogu stated that for the Free Primary Education Programme, the Ministry has released Ksh 7.9 billion for the nine million students enrolled in public primary institutions.

Since January of this year, the government has spent Sh14.7 billion on junior school for one million students and Sh44.4 billion on free day secondary education for 3.7 million students.

The CS reported that in the financial year 2023-2024, the government had allocated Sh51.1 billion to students enrolled in TVET and universities.

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The CS also noted that most of these institutions had commenced their 2023–2024 academic year in September 2023.

Machogu added that the government has been receiving and processing applications for government-funded loans, bursaries, and scholarships from students for the past month.

According to the CS, on October 4, 2023, the government, through the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), released Sh10.5 billion for tuition and maintenance loans to continuing students enrolled in universities and TVET institutions under the Old Funding Model.

He revealed that the Old Higher Education Funding Model has disbursed maintenance loans to 206,123 undergraduates and 72,546 continuing TVET students through the students’ preferred payment channels.

Machogu stated that each of the benefiting students at the university receives a minimum loan of Sh37,000 and a maximum loan of Sh60,000.

He also stated that they award each successful TVET trainee an average of Sh40,000 per year.

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Machogu noted that in September 2023, the government disbursed grants totaling Sh8.4 billion as capitation to students at public universities and Sh441 million to continuing students at private universities.

On the other hand, a total of Sh1.3 billion was disbursed as capitation to continuing trainees in numerous TVET colleges.

According to the CS, the government also started accepting student applications on July 31, 2023, for higher education loans and scholarships for the 2022 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination cohort enrolled in universities and TVET institutions for the 2023–2024 academic year.

The CS explained that the deadline for applications had initially been September 7th, 2023.

However, they extended it to October 7th, 2023, to give all eligible applicants the chance to submit their documents, stressing the significance of not excluding any student.

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According to Machogu, a total of 238.714 applications have been submitted as of October 4, 2023.

According to him, KUCCPS placed approximately 269,112 students in universities and TVET institutions who qualified for government funding.

This means that 3,608 university students and 26,790 students enrolled in TVET institutions have yet to register.

The CS expected the number to increase after the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service validated the data of students who had transferred to different degree programs or universities.

He noted that the Universities Fund and HELB have begun processing scholarships and bursaries for all students who have already applied.

Machogu emphasized that the government was actively assuring students, parents, guardians, and higher education institutions that they were making every effort to ensure the timely release of loans and scholarships to applicants, thereby facilitating their learning activities.

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Universities and TVET institutions are under strict orders to admit and retain students who have reported, even if they are fee-free.

As of now 86.6 percent, or 121,367 out of 140,147 students, have enrolled in universities for 2023–2024 academic year.

It is anticipated that this figure will increase as more universities begin their operations. He also mentioned that the admission process for students into TVET institutions is ongoing and conducted on a continuous basis.

Machogu asked all eligible students to submit applications for scholarships and loans via the Higher Education Financing Portal (www.hef.co.ke).

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Govt Releases Ksh67 Billion Education Funds To Schools

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