President William Ruto has appointed more than 120 people across four sub-committees to review and refine the new university funding model after a public uproar.
These sub-committees include The Workstream on the Review and Refinement of the New Funding Model for Universities and Technical, Vocational Education and Training Institutions (TVETs) and the Workstream on Appeals arising from the categorization of students into various eligibility bands for allocation of Scholarships and LoansThe others are The Workstream on Structure of Student Loans and The Workstream on the Review of the cost of University Academic Programmes.The chairperson of the entire national committee is Prof. Japheth Micheni Ntiba and together with co-chairpersons and joint secretaries of the four sub-committees, they shall coordinate the review process. “In the performance of its mandate, the Committee shall report to and be accountable to the President through the Cabinet Secretary for Education; and Consult with stakeholders in the education sector including industry players, associations and lobby groups, regulators and Government agencies, and any other person or entity as the Committee shall deem necessary,” the gazette notice states.
The National Committee empowered by the Executive Order No. 8 of 2024 will operate for 8 months, with the secretariat of the Committee working from the Ministry of Education Headquarters at Jogoo House.
The committee will establish the viability of the new universities’ funding, the efficacy of its implementation, and determine whether the appeals mechanism is satisfactory. The members will also analyze the costs of programs in tertiary institutions and the structure of student loans.
The Workstream on the Review and Refinement of the New Funding Model for Universities and Technical, Vocational Education and Training Institutions (TVETs) will be chaired by Prof. Karuti Kanyinga and co-chaired by Dibora Zainab Hirbo.
The Workstream on Appeals arising from the categorization of students into various eligibility bands for the allocation of Scholarships and Loans will be chaired by Walubengo Waningilo and co-chaired by Lucy Machugu.
The Workstream on Structure of Student Loans will be chaired by Robert Oduor Otieno and co-chaired by Aron Kiprotich Bett. The Workstream on the Review of the Cost of University Academic Programmes will also be chaired by Prof. Mohamed S. Rajab and co-chaired by Patrick Malanga.
Last week, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba had requested universities’ student leaders to suspend their planned demonstrations on Monday, assuring them that the government will review the controversial funding model.
Ogamba said that the ministry will form committees that will constitute a wide range of education sector players and student leaders who will determine the contentious issues inherent in the program’s implementation.
The commitees were meant to evaluate the banding process and stipulate terms of categorization that will effectively place every student in a band reflective of their socio-economic position.The new universities funding model has five bands, each specifying how much students should pay as fees as well as the varying amounts of money the government is willing to settle and loan.
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