
HELB, UF Govt Funding Proposal Awaiting University Students
Soon, students aspiring to attend universities and colleges may be required to apply for government funding to finance their educational goals.
It is no longer apparent that Form Four graduates who meet university entry requirements of C+ or higher and get admission to various institutions will receive automatic government capitation.
Regardless of financial need, state funding is provided to all students placed by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) and admitted to universities.
Suppose the proposals of two leading education funding organizations are approved.
In that case, State funding for degree, certificate, and diploma programs in higher education institutions will be restricted to those that merit it.
These are part of the far-reaching plans by the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) and Universities Fund (UF).The current CEOs of Helb and UF are Charles Ringera and Geoffrey Monari, respectively.
The two reports were submitted to Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms, constituted by president William Ruto.
President Ruto appointed the 49-member panel, chaired by Prof Raphael Munavu, to among other things, assess and recommend a governance and financial structure for TVET training and development, university education, research, and training.
For recurrent and capital expenditures, universities get grants from the government through capitation.
All KUCCPS students admitted to universities get automatic capitation payments paid to their respective institutions.
There is additional student finance in the form of loans, bursaries, and scholarships administered by the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB). However, these are done on a needs basis through recognized criteria.
Universities Fund allocates 80% of University funding per student via grants based on Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC), while HELB funds the remaining 20% via loans, bursaries, scholarships, and households.
However, in separate presentations to the task group, the two funding agencies have made far-reaching proposals for what they believe is the future of education funding for all students in the country.
In their strong suggestion, the two organizations advocate that only deserving students receive State funding based on a defined standard that prioritizes cases of financial necessity.
HELB and UF argue that all students placed by KUCCPS should not, as is currently the case, receive State funding.
“KUCCPS placed students shall be allowed to express interest for government grants and loans to finance their tertiary education unlike the current situation where grants are allocated to all KUCCPS placed students regardless of the need for the funding,” reads a proposal by HELB.
The agencies suggest that grants should be applied on a need basis for fair distribution of pooled resources.
The plan is consistent with the Kenya Kwanza Government’s program, which envisioned a merger of all funding boards to harmonize all tertiary education funding bodies.
Merge funding agencies
Through his campaign manifesto, president Ruto committed to amalgamating HELB, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Fund, and University Fund with a view to harmonizing and merging all tertiary education funding entities into one National Skills and Funding Council (NSFC) (NSFC).
HELB and UF agreed with President Ruto’s plan to combine the funding agencies.
“It is important to consolidate and declare all available government funds (grants, loans, scholarships, as well as bursaries) to students, parents, and guardians to allow them to make informed decisions on the funding mode depending on their financial need,” reads the HELB report.
This view is held by the University Fund (UF) as well.
The agencies believe that the move will relieve funds from people who do not desire government grants, thus increasing the available funds to needy individuals and helping better target students’ financial support.
The proposed paradigm change by HELB and UF aligns with the president’s perspective.
In a recent interview, President Ruto questioned how the government could support so many students with so little money instead of those it could help with appropriate resources.
President Ruto remarked that many parents who have been able to pay large sums of money to enroll their children in academies for primary education also rely on the state for university funding, displacing disadvantaged students.
“We have parents with students in academies all through from Standard One to Form Four where they pay up to Sh200,000, but when they go to university, we want to tell them we can pay for all of them,” Ruto said.
“We must be honest with ourselves and let those who can afford to pay. And let us think on how we can assist those who cannot afford rather than pretending that we are going to support all the children even when we are not in the position to,” Ruto said.
HELB and UF now argue that the Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) currently funds students without their agreement or that of their parents or legal guardians.
DUC is the annual cost per student of offering a certain degree program, which includes staff costs, building fees, and other “overhead” costs of the school.
When the UF makes DUC rules, they are likely to take into account the number of students, the cost of staff, the ratio of students to staff, the cost of infrastructure and operations, the type of student load, and the level of the program.
HELB, UF Govt Funding Proposal Awaiting University Students
In its report, UF states that funding has been provided to all students placed by KUCCPS, regardless of whether they require the budget, despite the reduction in funding through DUC allocation.
According to the report, Students have yet to be required to show interest in their need for a government subsidy to pursue a university education.
Some parents and guardians may choose to fund their student’s college education without government grants fully,
In addition, UF is spearheading a plan to provide students with payment vouchers that may be used to pay for university courses and to ensure that only eligible students receive State funding.
If implemented, the voucher system would allow students to transmit tuition money to a different university if they wish to transfer to that college.
Students who wish to transfer from one college to another do not take their financial aid with them, which distorts the funding plan and financial accountability.
If adopted, a full scholarship, partial sponsorship at the present levels, and partial sponsorship for students will be provided.
According to the UF report, it is advocated that student loans should be differentiated based on the actual cost of the students’ programs.
Students must meet a particular condition to apply.
Based on predetermined criteria, students apply for sponsorship.Every student required to pay tuition should be eligible for a studen
t loan.
The two groups also say that the current disconnected funding plan has led to different amounts of money going to different students, leaving many students without enough money.
Draw capitation
The presentation by HELB states that the current higher education funding situation is one where-by one student has several funders in the form of government institutions as allocated by UFB, HELB, Counties, NG-CDG, and other sector priority needs by MDAs. Yet, all are taking capitation from the exchequer.
In their memorandum, the groups argue that the Universities Fund gives money to universities based on the number of enrolled students to help with tuition fees and for development. However, HELB provides the same student with loans to cover tuition and living expenses.
Despite the operational costs of various government institutions, there is an uncoordinated appraisal of students’ financial needs, funds are released at different uncoordinated times, and different data sets of the same student are held differently in various government institutions of the same sector.
According to the reports, the current structure of funding universities is through grants funneled directly from the Ministry of Education to the State Department of University Education as allocated by the Universities Fund based on differentiated unit cost.
This supports up to 80 percent. According to the report, the remaining 20% is covered by Hleb’s Loans, Bursaries, and Scholarships, or, if the family can afford it, by themselves.
In addition, HELB grants loans and bursaries to the vulnerable by enhancing equity and access to university education through an intricate criterion that identifies the vulnerability of the loan applicants.
The State Department of Vocational Technical Training provides stipends (Sh30,000) directly to colleges as tuition for TVET students.
HELB contributes an additional Sh40,000, comprising Sh26,600 for tuition and Sh13,400 for maintenance.
“The proposed amalgamation of the tertiary education funding entities is a tactically well-thought-out recovery strategy and a step in the right direction to create efficiencies in funding higher education,” reads HELB’s statement.
And now, the agencies argue that there have been multiple beneficiaries who deny others a chance and note that one funding body will cure the problem.
“This will help the country avoid a situation whereby various government agencies fund one student, yet all are drawing capitation from the exchequer.”
Overall, the two funding agencies believe that the current system has yet to deliver a one-stop-shop for university education financing demands and highlighted the desire for a unified education financing plan.
In support of the merger, the two agencies assert that the new funding agency will serve as a “one-stop shop” for tertiary education finance needs, promote equitable and better allocation of available resources, and provide a shared, structured mechanism for resource mobilization.
HELB, UF Govt Funding Proposal
HELB, UF Govt Funding Proposal Awaiting University Students