New higher education funding model; The explainer

Higher education funding model in kenya

In summary:

• Students from extremely needy households to get 100% financing.
• Students classified into four categories: vulnerable, extremely needy, needy and less needy
• Kuccps placed University and TVET students with letters are eligible
• Family economic background to be evaluated before loan or scholarship is awarded.

University and College students will now qualify for loans and scholarships via the Higher Education Funding Model. According to the University Fund Kenya, one must be Kenyan and a 2022 KCSE examination candidate to be eligible for the scholarship.

He or she must have also been placed by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) to pursue an undergraduate, diploma, craft certificate, or artisan course at one of Kenya’s accredited public universities or TVET colleges.

The scholarship will be open to students who sat their KCSE examination from 2022 onwards.

Once confirmed to have met the requirements, one will be needed to visit https://www.hef.co.ke/ for application with a checklist meeting the requirements hereunder;

A valid email address, a valid phone number registered to the applicant’s name, KCPE and KCSE index numbers and year of examination, College/University admission letter and a copy of the sponsorship letter for those sponsored in secondary school.

Others are the applicant’s parent/guardian’s registered numbers, the applicant’s ID number, death certificate if parents are deceased, a passport photo and a birth certificate.

Also, those who will be seeking loans will be needed to have the ID numbers and telephone numbers for two guarantors.

On the platform, one will first register/log in, fill out their profile and upload their documents, tick the box to apply for a scholarship or a loan and submit the application.

The applicant will then wait for the award within 30 days and then wait for an SMS payment notification.

It is also worth noting that students in private universities are not eligible for the government scholarship fund, but can apply for loans through HELB.

Continuing students will not be affected by the funding model and will continue to receive their funding based on the previous funding model.

The level of funding for each student will depend on the monthly household income and the financial aid has been classified into four categories, the vulnerable, extremely needy, needy and less needy.

Under the model, those students falling under the vulnerable and extremely needy band will qualify for 100%  government funding for their studies with the money coming as scholarships and loans, and those deemed to be needy and less needy will get 93% government funding, with the students bearing 7% of the tuition costs.

Students from the vulnerable and extremely needy households will receive 100% funding while the needy and less needy will get 93% government funding and a 7% contribution from their households to cover for the tuition fees.

All university and TVET students who have received letters from universities and TVET colleges as per the placement from Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) are eligible for funding.

Classification of students

To effect this, the government has classified students seeking funding into four categories, the vulnerable, extremely needy, needy and less needy. The students joining private institutions too are eligible for the HELB loan and are encouraged to apply.  

Funding across the four categories will be determined by evaluating family economic background to ensure that students from poor households are given priority in terms of scholarship allocation while those from less needy households are covered by loan financing from HELB as has been in the past.

The classes are vulnerable– who come from the poorest background; then there is the extremely needy who are the second neediest in the funding classification.

The third and fourth classes are needy and less needy respectively. These two categories need little to no support in paying their fees.

What students need when applying for financing under the new Higher Education financing Model