The new university funding model may place students applying to join private institutions or lesser-known public universities at a disadvantage.
According to the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) report, students attending private universities will not be eligible for government scholarships under the new model, which could further discourage enrollment in private institutions.
Under this new system, universities that fail to attract a high number of students could face significant financial strain due to limited funding.
“Whereas universities that are more attractive to students, especially more established universities, will continue receiving more students and hence more funding, some universities may have to contend with inadequate financing, especially those that do not attract enough students to support their operations,” the report stated.
Difference in Tuition Fees in the University
Moreover, institutions that enroll more students, particularly those with longstanding reputations, are set to receive increased funding through the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB).
However, students who enroll in institutions with higher fees may end up bearing additional financial burdens due to variations in tuition fees across different universities.
“The survey found that PWPER, which proposed the NHEFM, gave new guidelines on the nature of tuition fees to be paid in different programs in a differentiated unit cost model. However, although different universities had implemented different tuition fee charges, the charges institutionalized were deficient of any empirical rigor as a basis for new tuition fees, including other charges preferred for food and non-food items,” the report read.
African Population and Health Research Center experts also noted that a lack of regulation in how universities and higher education institutions (HEIs) determine program will make the NHEFM unaffordable for many Kenyans, further limiting access and equity challenges in higher education.
The report recommended the need for increased government support for the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) and the Universities Fund Board (UFB) especially for TVET courses.
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It also recommended that the government directly fund capital and salary costs for TVETs and basic education, rather than linking these expenses to tuition fees.
Additionally, the implementation of the New Higher Education Funding Model (NHEFM) should be accompanied by a clear tuition fee policy that ensures fees remain fair and affordable.
Such a policy would be beneficial in lowering the cost of high-expense programs, particularly those in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
“STEM programs, including Medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, architecture, engineering, and computing, require intervention to keep them accessible by implementing into the MTI or the MTA a provision for additional logic that awards higher scholarship and loan support equitably based on the program requirements and or rationalizing tuition fees,” read the report.
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Courses You Choose Can Cost you
The survey indicated that some competitive programs, particularly in STEM fields, could become prohibitively expensive for many Kenyans under the new funding model (NHEFM).
Programs like Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine, Pharmacy, Architecture, Engineering, and Computing require more funding than other courses at university.
Additionally, tuition fees for these programs could be adjusted to enhance accessibility and become more affordable for ordinary Kenyans.
“It is concluded that government allocation falls short of meeting the demand under the NHEFM for HELB loans and UFB scholarships sustainably. We recommend a systematic approach to planning and implementing the NHEFM in a phased manner. This would involve calculating the HELB loan and UFB scholarship requirements for students across various programs,” part of the report read.
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