Government Reiterates Commitment to Higher Education Through Proposed Funding Model

By BRIAN MUSYOKA 

Speaking on Friday during the 11th graduation ceremony of the University of Embu, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said the Government was continuously refining the funding model to better respond to the diverse circumstances of students joining universities and TVET institutions.

Ogamba said the Government’s goal was to open opportunities equitably and ensure that no student’s talent is wasted due to lack of financial means. He said the Government had, in this regard, developed a new funding framework dubbed the Universal Student Funding Model, which focuses on investing directly in students’ future professional capacity.

The CS said the new framework would move away from the Student-Centred Funding Model (SCFM), introduced in 2023 and based on the Means Testing Instrument (MTI), which assessed students’ education funding according to their parents’ financial circumstances.

He noted that the Government had faced longstanding challenges in financing higher education, dating back to the Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) model, which was phased out in 2023 following the introduction of SCFM. According to Ogamba, the two models contributed to universities accumulating huge debts, partly due to inadequate government funding, leaving some institutions in severe financial distress.

The CS said the existing approach focused on assessing parents rather than students, which could disadvantage deserving students whenever the formula inaccurately assessed their parents’ financial ability. “We have changed that thinking by now focusing on the future of the students by funding their professional careers instead of parents’ current financial ability,” he said.

Ogamba added that the system had, in some cases, forced students to abandon careers of their choice and pursue courses that their parents could afford to finance. Under the proposed model, he said, the Government was seeking to transform university education from a household expense into a state-backed investment in human capital.

Chancellor of the University of Embu, Prof. Musili Wambua, said the increased student enrolment at the institution was a result of the quality of education being offered to students at the institution of higher learning and the trust that the people have with the university.

Prof. Wambua said the university has also been ranked among the best public universities on several occasions, attributing the strong performance to proper coordination and collaboration among the university community.

He applauded the Government for its continued funding of higher education, describing the support as a positive step towards strengthening universities and making quality education more accessible.

Vice Chancellor Prof. Daniel Mugendi said 2,367 graduands received certificates, diplomas, degrees, master’s and PhD qualifications during the graduation ceremony. He urged the graduates to utilise the skills and knowledge acquired at the university to transform their own lives and make a positive difference in the lives of others.