Full Scholarships for Public Universities to Benefit 45000 Students

Full Scholarships for Public Universities to Benefit 45000 Students

Full Scholarships for Public Universities to Benefit 45000 Students. According to Ezekiel Machogu, cabinet secretary for education, around 45,000 students who took the KCSE examinations in 2022 will receive full government scholarships.

 

According to CS Machogu, the State has developed a new finance mechanism that he is confident would be successful. The concept will give 100% scholarships to kids from low-income families, who will be especially favored.

 

 

“The government will provide 100% scholarships to about 45,000 of our students. There are Kenyans who can afford to go to college, like Mr. Melly, an MP; the government is not required to pay for his child’s tuition, according to the CS.

According to the CS, all 173,127 candidates who achieved the required C+ mark for admittance into a university in the 2022 KCSE Examination are eligible to be put on a campus. Those who receive a C (plain) or lower will be enrolled in TVET programs across the nation.

“As announced by the President, at least 45,000 students from needy and vulnerable backgrounds will access university education without paying any fees as the Government will meet their full costs of education,” the CS said.

 

The Ministry of Education has also provided an explanation for why private universities were not eligible for subsidies after the government developed a new system that favors students attending public universities for higher education.

Government scholarships will only be given to students who select public universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (Tvet) institutes in accordance with the new funding paradigm for these institutions.

 

Only the Higher Education Loans Board will offer student loans to those who select private colleges.

 

The government will only fund students enrolled in public universities, according to Mr. Machogu and the National Assembly Education Committee, which is chaired by Mr. Julius Melly, after it was discovered that Sh13 billion given to private institutions of higher learning for the previous six years was not audited.

During the interrogation of Ministry of Education officials regarding the investigation into the alleged widespread cheating in the 2022 KCSE examinations, the CS stated, “The only time that they were audited was 2018/2019 and you know you cannot be able to give public funds to a private entity that is not subject to auditing.”

 

Public monies, according to the CS, must be disclosed.

 

We won’t object if you want your kid to attend a private university. Just access the portal, choose those schools, and you can also see their tuition rates. The government award or scholarship is the only item you will lose out on, he added.

The State’s new funding mechanism, according to Mr. Melly, will increase accountability. Private universities are private companies, according to the Tinderet MP.

 

Although private universities are primarily owned by individuals, the government also has its own institutions. They can promote if they want students. A scholarship is available to all students attending public universities. However, those from low-income households would receive a 100% scholarship, those from the middle class will receive about 60%, and the other students can apply for loans, he said.

 

Mr. Melly pleaded with the government to keep subsidizing public universities in order to support the struggling schools.

The MP advised parents sending their kids to private universities to be financially prepared.

 

It is a model of accountability. It is the accountability of public resources; these monies belong to the public and should be used for the public, not the president, chief strategy officer, or chairman. We applaud the state for the university reforms it has implemented. Before, the State had a horrible habit of making grants without any consideration.

 

But as of right now, the state has declared that it would distribute money in accordance with programs and pupils,” the MP stated.

 

The speaker continued, “You must be awarded the same amount if a student consumes Sh200,000 in a year in the educational program or Sh500,000 in a medical course. Not for the State to just hand a Sh3 billion check to a specific university without knowing how many students it is for,”

The Tinderet MP added that under the new model, the State will be aware of the number of students enrolling in particular university courses and will finance each in accordance with its department.

 

Mr. Melly clarified, however, that the State will continue to provide subsidies to second, third, and fourth-year university students at public universities until they have finished their studies.

 

He argued that Kenyans had to show consideration for their coworkers who cannot afford a college education.

 

Following the opening of the placement on Wednesday, applicants who took the 2022 KCSE (869,782) can apply for placement in universities and institutions, according to the CS.

35 vice chancellors of public universities declared in February that financial difficulties are harming their schools.

 

The vice-chancellors want the National Treasury and Planning to start implementing immediate measures to start clearing the pending Pension Bill, which amounts to Sh19.6 billion in targeted installments, as part of their suggested interventions on major strategic challenges afflicting the institutions of higher learning.

 

 

 

“The National Government should act decisively and urgently to write off the outstanding PAYE bill owing by public universities to the Kenya Revenue Authority in the sum of Sh18 billion. The state should send funds to pay the 2017–2021 Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) in full, including Sh2.9 billion in arrears, according to Geoffrey Monari, chief executive officer of the Universities Fund.

Due to statutory deductions including Pay As You Earn and the National Hospital Insurance Fund, as well as worker pensions, the institutions have accumulated debts totaling Sh60.6 billion. Due to interest, the number has been increasing.

 

Prof. Stephen Kiama, vice chancellor of the University of Nairobi, provided a bleak picture of how the university came to be in financial trouble and charged the Ministry of Education with purposefully creating their problems.

 

“Some people claim that we drowned as a result of poor governance, but that’s not the problem; I need to explain. It was planned and intentional. What do you do if CBAs were negotiated, financed in the past, but not in the present? Do you pay bigger salary now and in the future? You can’t do that, the don continued.

Only a small percentage of pupils who were passing exams, according to Prof. Kiama, were eligible for admission to public universities.

 

However, they were also sent to private universities, preventing any from being made available in particular to the public institutions. Significantly, many universities were impacted. The Ministry was keen about decreasing our capitation from Sh6.2 billion to Sh4.5 billion, but Treasury opposed. According to Pro Kiama from the UON, this resulted in a reduction of Sh1.7 billion in UON’s capitation.

 

The dons also suggested raising the annual tuition from the present level of Sh16,000 to a minimum of Sh48,000 and a maximum of Sh96,000 for all universities.