NAIROBI, Kenya Mar 12 – The Universities Fund will this week release Ksh4.2 billion in scholarship funds to public universities across the country to support continuing students under the government’s new higher education financing system.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Acting Chief Executive Officer Edwin Wanyonyi said the funds are part of allocations under the 2025/2026 financial year budget and are intended to facilitate learning for students enrolled in public universities under the Student-Centred Funding Model (SCFM).
Wanyonyi said the latest disbursement will benefit thousands of government-sponsored students pursuing various undergraduate programmes in public institutions.
“The Universities Fund has already disbursed Ksh8.4 billion in scholarship support during the 2025/2026 financial year,” he said.
The Acting Chief Executive Officer noted that the current release will further strengthen financial support for continuing students under the model.
The Student-Centred Funding Model, introduced in 2023, marked a major shift in Kenya’s higher education financing framework.
Since its rollout, 437,648 students have benefited from scholarships administered by the Universities Fund, with more than Ksh37 billion disbursed to support undergraduate education. The first cohort of students admitted under the new funding structure is expected to graduate next year.
Unlike the previous system where funds were allocated directly to universities, the new model ensures that funding follows the student. Under this approach, the amount of support a learner receives is determined by their level of financial need.
The higher education sector has expanded rapidly in recent years. The country now has 83 universities serving a growing number of learners across the country.
At the same time, the number of students qualifying for university admission has risen sharply from 62,581 in 2017 to 270,715 in 2025, representing a 332 percent increase.
The surge in university entrants has placed increasing pressure on government resources, highlighting the need for sustained investment in higher education financing.
To qualify for government scholarships, students must be placed in a public university by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS), have sat the KCSE examination in 2022 or later, and submit their applications through the Higher Education Financing Portal.
The portal typically opens shortly after KUCCPS releases university placement results.
Wanyonyi said students who sat the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination and attain the minimum university entry grade will also be required to apply for scholarships through the HEF Portal once the application window opens.