Private Universities Call For Review Of ‘Discriminatory’ New Funding Model
Vice chancellors of private universities in Kenya are requesting a review of the new university funding model in which students will acquire individual scholarships.
Higher education institutions stated at Kabarak University following a meeting with vice chancellors from 20 institutions that the new funding model discriminates against students who have applied to private universities because they will receive funding to a greater extent than their counterparts in public universities.
The institutions declare that they will petition the government to reconsider certain funding conditions.
Vice Chancellor of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA), Professor Stephen Mbugua, noted that it had been mutually agreed upon that KAPU would make an appeal to the government, urging a reconsideration of the provided funding model.
In the interim, private universities have taken steps to establish measures aimed at bolstering and ensuring the sustainability of universities in the future.
Professor Washington Okeyo, Vice Chancellor of the Management University of Kenya, further commented that in the past, a funding model known as DUC had been employed.
Under this model, students were allocated to various universities, and the corresponding funding followed them regardless of their chosen institution.
However, he expressed concern over the existing funding model, asserting that it carries a bias and places students attending private universities at a disadvantage compared to their counterparts in public institutions.
“There was a funding model for DUC that has been used in the past; that funding model allowed students to be placed in all universities, and the money followed them wherever they went. The current model is discriminatory and places those in private universities as less than others.”
Under the new model that goes into effect in September 2023, Ksh. 1.6 billion has been allocated to finance university students.
Private Universities Call For Review Of ‘Discriminatory’ New Funding Model