Govt reopens university funding window as thousands miss deadline

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba. [File,Standard]

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has extended the application deadline for first-time university and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) funding to September 21, giving latecomers three more weeks to apply for state support.

The initial window closed on August 31, after the Universities Fund and the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) received 789,422 applications.

 The government had already released Sh22.12 billion in first-semester and first-term funding to continuing students by that date.

Ogamba directed the two agencies to reopen applications after establishing that some eligible students and trainees missed the cutoff for reasons beyond their control.

"Recognising that some eligible students and trainees may not have met the initial deadline on account of various causes, the Universities Fund and the Higher Education Loans Board have been directed to extend the application window for all eligible applicants to 21st September, 2026," said Ogamba in a statement dated Thursday, September 3.

The ministry urged all eligible first-time applicants in universities and TVET institutions to apply promptly within the new window.

The extension comes as universities admit first-year students amid uncertainty over a proposed overhaul of higher education financing.

Nearly all government-placed students, about 195,000 of an expected 200,000, have already reported to institutions, according to Higher Education Principal Secretary Beatrice Inyangala.

Applications will continue to be processed under the existing Student-Centred Funding Model, the statement noted.

Broader changes are tied to the Tertiary Education, Placement and Funding Bill, 2026, currently before the National Assembly's Departmental Committee on Education.

The proposed law would establish a Tertiary Education Funding Authority (TEFA) to replace HELB, the Universities Fund and the TVET Funding Board, and would fund every placed student through loans rather than scholarships.

Lawmakers have yet to pass the Bill, with ministry officials projecting a Sh57.6 billion shortfall in student loan funding for the 2026/2027 financial year.