The government has announced the release of Ksh14.4 billion to cover scholarships and loans for university students.

In a statement, Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu said the funds are the second tranche to cover scholarships and loans for government-sponsored first-year students in universities under the Higher Education Funding (HEF) model.

“Of the total amount, Sh10.39 billion will go towards loans under the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) while Sh3.9 billion will be disbursed for scholarships through the Universities Fund,” he said.

The HEF model applies to the students who sat for KCSE from 2022 going forward. Candidates who sat the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Examination in 2023 will form the second cohort of students to be subjected to the new funding model.

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The CS noted that the funds will also cover second-semester loans for continuing students in the 2023/24 academic year.

The latest disbursement brings the total amount released by the Government for loans and scholarships to first-year students since September 2023 to Ksh23.6 billion.

In September 2023, the government released Sh10.3 billion as loans for university and TVET continuing students. Another Sh5.3 billion was released in October for student loans and a further Ksh3.9 Billion for scholarships.

HELB noted that Beneficiaries of the first-year loans and scholarships are those who successfully made their applications through the Higher Education Financing portal that we officially launched on August 31, 2023