The Ministry of Education has given the way forward on students set to join universities who lodged appeals for recategorization of the Higher Education Funding (HEF) bands.
Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Julius Ogamba in a statement on August 23 said that of the categorized applicants, 12,958 have lodged appeals for re- categorization.
Migos added that the processing of the appeals has now started and will be concluded within three weeks from the date of each of appeal.
The portal will remain open until 31st December 2024, to allow for late appeals.
On the other hand, he revealed that re-categorization will rely on the accuracy of the information provided regarding different aspects of an applicant such as their socio-economic background.
The CS said that the Ministry is working with the National Government Administration Officers (NGAOs), in a multi-agency approach to ensure that all applicants are categorized fairly and that no one is deprived of deserved funding.
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“To ensure that all applicants are categorized fairly and that no one is deprived of deserved funding, we are working with officers from the National Government Administration Office, in a multi-agency approach. These officers will assist in verifying the information provided by applicants from their respective jurisdictions, across all the 106,600 villages in the country,” said the CS.
“The re-categorization will rely on the accuracy of the information provided regarding an applicant’s socio-economic background; affirmative action considerations; socio-demographic factors; and family education expenses.”
HEF loans Applications in figures
At the same time, Ogamba said that following the opening of the Higher Education Portal for this application cycle, 134,029 applications for loans and scholarships have been received to date.
The CS further said that a total of 127,591 applications have already been categorized into the various bands.
“Thus far, Ksh. 5.2 billion has been released to the Higher Education Loans Board for tuition and upkeep loans. Ksh. 2.8 billion has been released to the Universities Fund for scholarships,” he added.
Ogamba maintained that the funds are now being disbursed to the respective university and student accounts, upon ascertainment of students’ reporting and admission, with the disbursement process set to be completed by 30th August 2024.
Also Read: HEF: Step by Step Process of Appealing for Scholarship Category Change
The update comes at a time the debate around the new university funding model continues, with Chief justice (CJ) Martha Koome and Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua being the latest to weigh in on the HEF debate.
CJ Koome while speaking in Nairobi on Thursday said the model is perpetuating inequality and might prevent many vulnerable students from accessing higher education.
Koome and Karua Criticize new Funding model
The CJ termed the classification of household into clusters unfair and further proposed consolidation of bursary funds and channeling them directly to schools to make education free.
Koome noted that the proposed new funding model risked locking out students from poor backgrounds against accessing higher education.
NARC Kenya party leader Martha Karua similar raised the sentiments were raised while criticizing the government for shifting to the new model yet the HELB model was working.
Their remarks came even as the head of public service Felix Koskei revealed that Ksh 5.2 billion for loans have been disbursed at HELB with a further Ksh 2.8 billion disbursed to cater to university scholarship
Kosgei further said the government was putting measures to address the gaps in the new funding model.
