State to sponsor 10,000 students in private varsities
An invigilator supervises students as they sit for a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exam at a Kisumu school. PHOTO | JACOB OWITI
About 10,000 candidates who sat their Form Four examination last year will receive government sponsorship in private universities while the entry grade will be lowered by two points if the recommendations of a taskforce are adopted.
The taskforce, which was appointed to guide State sponsorship in private universities in line with the law, says Sh700 million will be required to allow the taxpayer-funded students join private institutions from September.
This will see enrolment of State-sponsored students increase to 84,389 given the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (Kuccps) had provided 74,389 slots in public institutions, up from 67,790 in 2014 and 53,010 the year before.
The minimum entry requirements for male students to benefit for government funding will be reduced to grade B- of 58 points from B of 60 points for males and B- of 56 points from B- of 58 points for females to accommodate the new students.
This means that some of the candidates who sat KCSE examination last year will study in universities like Strathmore, USIU, and Daystar and still enjoy government sponsorship.
Under the new arrangement, private universities will give the selection body, Kuccps, a list of the courses they are willing to include in the scheme and the number of slots available.
The adoption of the recommendations will be a major victory for private universities which have been seeking a share of government sponsored students since 2013 following the enactment of Universities Act 2012 which allowed the admission the students to private universities.
However, since passing of the Act no government-sponsored students has joined private university. The government will also be required to fund universities as per the current funding model at Sh70, 000 per student paid by the taxpayers and Sh16,000 paid by the student.
The student will be entitled to receive subsistence cash from Higher Education Loans Board. In subsequent years, students who elect to join private universities would receive a government sponsorship depending on the course they are pursuing.
A funding board would be established to determine the average cost for each degree programme being offered by all universities. “That the maximum differentiated unit cost would then be applied to all universities in subsequent years,” the committee recommends.
A sharp rise in the enrolment of state-sponsored university students has continued to stretch Helb capacity to assist the large pool of needy applicants.
The high enrolment rate has also been exerting pressure on university teaching staff and facilities at a time when the institutions are struggling to raise cash for upgrades.
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