In a move to alleviate the uncertainty caused by the recent court ruling on the new university funding model, universities in Kenya have announced that first and second-year students will not be required to pay fees until a court resolves the case. The decision comes after the High Court declared the funding model unconstitutional in December 2024, leaving many students and institutions in limbo.
Professor Daniel Mugendi, Chairperson of the Vice-Chancellors’ Committee and Vice-Chancellor of Embu University, confirmed the relief measure during a media briefing on Thursday, January 16, 2025. “For first years, we are not asking them to pay fees until the issue is resolved in court because they don’t even know how much they are supposed to pay,” Mugendi stated. This exemption will be limited to first and second-year students, who are the primary beneficiaries of the new funding model introduced by the government in May 2023.
Mugendi further explained that while the government had already allocated funding for these students, the money could not be disbursed due to the court’s order. “The funding is already available, but it cannot be released by the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) or the Universities Fund because of the court ruling,” he added.
However, the exemption does not extend to self-sponsored first-year students, as they are not under government sponsorship. The Vice-Chancellor expressed concern over the lack of transition mechanisms in the court ruling, which he said had disrupted the continuity of university education.
To address the situation, Mugendi revealed that the university leadership had returned to court seeking a stay order to allow the government to disburse funds for the affected students. “We have gone back to court to challenge that ruling and requested the courts to grant us stay orders so that we can continue operating and enable students to pay their fees,” he said.
While challenges remain, Mugendi remained hopeful that the issue would be resolved soon. “We are optimistic that the case will be resolved by next week, allowing funding agencies to release money and ensuring the smooth continuation of education for all students,” he concluded.
